Tests and Failures
by Hikari's Twilight
Summary: There's more to Orochimaru than meets the eye.
1. Chapter One

The words that were exchanged that night changed my life forever. I couldn't believe that I had been so careless as to let the only thing that I loved more than my power slip through my fingers to never be seen again in the most simple of manners. I am frustrated with myself because of it. How could I let something like that happen? I'm such a fool… So wrote the man sitting at his hard oak desk looking gloomier than he had ever remembering looking in his entire life.

The pen stopped scratching away at the paper as the man finally decided it was best to let his mind rest for a moment as he paused to stare out into the distance. Even though he had hoped his mind wouldn't start thinking about what he had done to make sure the only one he loved lived, it began to recycle all the events leading to her departure in such detail the man almost started to cry as if it was the day that the two had first split ways. He hid his eyes behind his hands in case some one was to walk in. He didn't need them asking unnecessary questions.

It seemed that just as the man's should had started to heave up and down in giant concealed sobs, a knock sounded from the sliding wood door to his left. Letting his sobbing gradually disappear, he dried his eyes and eased the matching oak chair away from his desk. Mindful of any snakes that had decided to enter his room while he had been writing, he slowly and cautiously made his way across to where the door was. The door was permitted to slide open ever-so-slightly to allow him to discreetly regard whoever needed him without alerting them to the fact that the door was open.

Standing on the other side of the door was a blonde haired man with his hair pulled up in a pony tail. The man was staring at his nails as if trying to decide whether the colour nail polish suited him or not. He very obviously hadn't even come to the conclusion that the door was opened and the man within was staring out blankly at him. "What do you want, Deidara?" The man within the room demanded in a soft his as to not betray what had just played through his mind.

The blonde looked visibly looked startled but had managed to control the impulse to jump to keep him from looking like a total idiot. "Oh! Uh, when did you open the door hm?" He asked and then quickly corrected himself with a red face, "Boss wants you, Orochimaru."

The man nodded his head on the other side of the door but offered no vocal response even as the blonde stalked away to return to whatever he was doing before he had been interrupted. Orochimaru closed the door and looked down at himself. He was half dressed and still in the pants he had slept in. He shook his head to himself in self-disappointment and turned back to put actual clothes on.

Once he was fully clothed in presentable clothing, the black haired snake stalked from his room in a melancholy stupor. He approached the Boss's room without being detected by any other members. He rapped softly on the soft wood and waited with some irritation for the man to open the door. The door was opened a moment or two after the knock. Kanon, the ever diligent organizers, had pushed opened the door and allowed the man entrance to the Boss's room before she departed to do her own work.

Orochimaru bowed to the man he called 'Boss' and seated himself in a chair across from the man before crossing his legs and crisscrossing his fingers over one another and staring none to happily at the man on the other side of the bureau. The Boss returned his look of displeasure and sighed loudly in knowing depression that the man was not happy. "Are you ever anything besides melancholy or angry?" The boss asked in a bored tone.

"The answer to that question is yes. I can be one hell of a smart ass when I feel the need to," Orochimaru put in sullenly.

The Boss's eyes narrowed at the man but made a dismissive noise and went on with why he had summoned the dark haired man to his office. "Anyway, Orochimaru-_sama_, I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here."

"I'm not at all in the least bit concerned as to why you called me here. I'd rather be back in my room sleeping so I didn't have to deal with the idiocy that is the rest of this Akatsuki."

The Boss ignored his comment and went on, "There's some one I would like you to meet. He'll be your new partner from here on out. I hope you two learn to _like_ each other."

Orochimaru hadn't noticed the red head sitting in the chair across from him until the Boss had pointed the man out to him. He raised an inquisitive eye brow at the man sitting in the chair across from him. "And he is…?" Orochimaru directed the question at the Boss.

The Boss leaned forward and grinned evilly at Orochimaru. "Why don't you ask him yourself instead of asking me?"

"Because I really don't care…" Orochimaru pointed out. "I don't usually like to associate myself with some one from Sunagakure. It's not exactly my idea of a picnic."

The Boss rolled his eyes. "Well, Orochimaru, you had better start liking it. He's your partner until one of you dies or you kill each other. Either way, you're stuck with him."

Orochimaru's eyes became slits. "I wouldn't be so smug about this if I were you, Pein-_sama_. I've been known to kill my partner."

"Funny how that works…" Pein remarked sarcastically. "Sometimes I honestly think you would have been better off born as Jorogumo* the male eater." He grinned wittily at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru smugly grinned back at the man. "Oh, how flattering. I shall have to keep that in mind if you ever get on my bad side… It would be too easy to just swallow you as a snake would after injecting a nerve neutralizing poison into your veins…" He tapped a finger to his cheek to demonstrate that Pein was to kiss him on the check. "It seems that Jorogumo had done me one better." He bowed. "I thank you for the word of advice."

The red haired man snorted a laugh while Pein looked a little shocked. "I'll give you that, Orochimaru," Pein conceded. "Just don't get too close to me to do either one."

"Don't tempt me and there will be no problem, Pein," Orochimaru flashed a final grin at the man and let his mirth fade away. "May I leave now since you have shown me what you wanted to show me?"

"No!" Pein blurted unintentionally and then coughed to make up for it. "You're to go on a mission with him so you can show him the ropes. I'm sure he'll catch on quickly and won't be of much trouble to you as long as you're not barking orders at him as you did to the last person you were paired up with…"

"You think my attitudes will change over night towards my partner?" Orochimaru let a skeptical eyebrow go up. "Oh, you are so naïve in my ways…"

"I'm not so naïve, Orochimaru. You will either behave yourself, which means no barking orders, or there will be a price to pay. And believe me, I'll know whether or not you'll be snapping at Sasori or not," Pein warned.

Orochimaru shrugged uncaringly, indifferently. "Say what you will. I care not either way."

"How did I know you were going to say that?"

"Probably because I don't usually care what you have to say concerning who I'm paired up with."

Pein shook his head and thrust a folder across to Orochimaru. "Read it and then brief Sasori. I know you well enough to know you'll cover thee basics with him."

Orochimaru gave Pein an unnervingly simple smile and nodded pleasantly. "Oh, of course. I wouldn't let you down now…" He rose and motioned for the new member to follow him as he strutted out of the office.

Pein shook his head after Orochimaru and Sasori. "That man…" He muttered to himself before sending a palm into his head.

After their mission had begun, Orochimaru led Sasori through a series of underground passage ways that looked as they walked more strikingly like something Manda would have carved out with his body. Orochimaru hadn't bothered to say much to Sasori about the mission thus far because the man had figured he would be incapable of fulfilling certain quota. Sasori had guessed this much and had kept his mouth shut about it. He would show this stuck up Konohagakure ninja just how much he would need him in the end.

Orochimaru brought them out exactly where they needed to be to begin their mission which fully and honestly surprised Sasori. He glanced at the dark haired man's concealed face. "How on earth did you know exactly where this would bring us to? No, better yet, how did you know that tunnel was there?" Sasori shot the question silently.

Orochimaru simply shrugged and pressed a finger to his pale lips. "We are not alone," He informed the other male. "Konohagakure has their slime dripping from all over the place. Be mindful of your surroundings at all time, and do keep in mind that we are only after a scroll. The less you kill and the less noticeable you are, the happier I am." He removed his hat from his head and straightened his hair. "Oh, and Sasori, I prefer to split up when I work with other people. It gives me more space… We'll meet on the building's top. I have more to discuss with you there…" The hat fell from the snake's hand as a kunai whizzed at it. Without further ado, Orochimaru disappeared in a pile of ash.

Sasori blinked, but he had gotten the hint and he took disappeared to gain more of an advantage over Konohagakure.

As Orochimaru had promised, he met Sasori again on the roof. This time, he was without his coat and looking quite stunning in the ANBU uniform he had stolen from a dead body. He approached Sasori nonchalantly. "You killed some one," Sasori noted.

"Of course," Orochimaru grinned. "I find them more disgusting every time I lay my eyes upon them and I had done it out of necessity… No matter, it's not important. Anyway, we are to get this scroll…" He fished a picture out of his pocket and displayed it to Sasori. "Be mindful of decoys and stun scrolls. I don't need to be saving you unconscious ass on the first mission just because you were careless."

"Likewise," Sasori growled.

Orochimaru flashed a grin. "Oh, I wouldn't be so careless. I'm more than well aware of what this scroll actually looks like. I've handled it on many, many occasions." He tucked the picture into Sasori's hand. "Remember, red will kill you if it gets the chance…" He flipped and kicked open the attic door before dropping in undetected. Sasori was nipping at his heels.

--

*- Joro-gumo (Nephila clavata) is a species of spider that lives in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China. Here, Pein is referring to its part of Japanese folklore. Jorogumo was said to be able to transform from spider into a beautiful woman that seduced men, and the men once caught in her seduction were tied up and to be eaten.


	2. Chapter Two

The Third Hokage regarded his city with apprehension. It had been two days since he had received news that the Akatsuki had officially declared that Orochimaru was one of their own. The leader of the Akatsuki had evidently ordered Orochimaru and another defected ninja to steal a highly valuable scroll from a highly fortified Konohagakure bunker. The two rank S criminals had managed to break in, steal, and depart with the scroll with only one casualty which the Hokage figured was Orochimaru's own doing.

He ran a hand over his face and let out a breath. How on earth would he ever be able to explain this failure to the other Kage? He consciously heard the door to his office open and was pulled back to earth. He directed his attention fully to the new arrival. "Ah, Yondaime, I'm glad you could make it…" The Hokage greeted with a small smile.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru sat at his desk for the second night in a row reading over some of the documents he had stolen while visiting the Konohagakure bunker. The information on them was some seriously old news for him since he had over indulged in the resources available to him at the Akatsuki. He frowned undecidedly to himself and tossed the documents into a spare drawer without a moment's thought. His door opened not a split second later.

Konan stood with an arm load of papers. "Can I ask a favour, Orochimaru-san?" She asked from behind the large stack.

Orochimaru contained the impulse to laugh and stood up. "Do you want help sorting?"

"If you wouldn't mind," The woman replied and sent a very appreciative look his way. "There's more than just this, by the way. This is just the stuff Pein-sama had coagulated in his office." She motioned with her head from him to follow, which he did, as she led him down a few random passageways and into the basement file room.

"Alright, here's the scoop," The woman plopped the large volume of documents down next to an equally as big if not bigger stack of papers. "We alphabetize and then we alphabetize the alphabetized. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?"

Orochimaru grinned hollowly. "This sounds like something you do on a daily basis…" He joked.

"Oh, no not at all," Konan returned his humor before sinking knee deep into the pile of papers on the desk.

Once the task he had been given by Konan, Orochimaru retired to his bedroom for the final time that night. He had a bento box that he had nabbed from Deidara's secret stash and was about to sit down and enjoy it when Kisame entered the room looking none too pleased. "Did you hear? Two Uchiha are supposed to be joining our leagues," He reported as he plopped down onto one of the chairs in Orochimaru's room and put his feet up. "How does that make you feel?"  
Orochimaru gazed apprehensively at the man as he stuck a mouthful of rice into his mouth and swallowed. "That matters very little to me, Hoshigaki-san. I know for a fact I shan't be paired with either one since I have already acquired my partner. _You_, on the other hand, might not be so fortunate."

Kisame frowned at the man. "Shouldn't you care though? Aren't they from your former village?"

Orochimaru shrugged and put another mouthful of food into his mouth. "I'd be more concerned if they were ex-Shinobi Hunters or ANBU. I feel no threat from simpletons."

"Simpletons?" Kisame scoffed. "From what I understand it'll be Uchiha Itachi and another joining us."

"Ah… that ones who killed the Uchiha clan. Somehow that doesn't surprise me…" The man set aside his bento box and smoothed his hair out of his face. "Again, they are simpletons."

"Why do you call them simpletons? They must be somewhat brilliant if they killed their entire family."

"It doesn't take a brilliant mind to unconsciously slaughter a couple hundred people as long as they are brawn enough to do so, Hoshigaki-san. Even you should know that by now."

"The Uchiha have the Sharringan, do they not? That is what threw me when I heard they would be joining our leagues. Isn't that strange to you?"

"In some ways, yes, and yet in others no. The Uchiha usually side with the strongest fighters, and they must have determined Pein to be the strongest of the fighters thus far. Although, I can't blame them with the wishy-washy fool they have as Hokage…"

Kisame laughed his clickly teeth laugh. "Bitter towards everything in that village, aren't you?" He jeered.

"You would be too if you had been me…" Orochimaru shot bitterly at the man. "Now could you go away? Your presence here is becoming far too annoying for anything I would like to deal with daily."

Kisame scowled but left no less. No need to tick Orochimaru off so late in the day. Orochimaru wouldn't let you forget it for the next month.

Orochimaru shook his head after the man left and returned to picking out the rice from the bento box. "Uchiha Madara and Itachi…" He muttered to himself in mute disappointment. "This is too suspicious for words…" He shrugged it off and stuffed another mouthful of rice into his mouth.

In the morning when the dawn had just barely cracked the horizon, Orochimaru was up and outside in the cool morning air to clear his head. He had been up most of the night reading over some of his old journals with entries that related to the Uchiha clan and whatever their workings in Konohagakure were. It seemed to him that perhaps this was just some weird freaking coincidence or something a little more serious was going on.

Back when he had been loyal to the place he now hated, there had been talk about eliminating the Uchiha clan to rid the world of their dreadful Sharringan. Orochimaru recalled being extremely vehement against the action even before he became obsessed with power. His reasoning: Why would you let a single group of people such as the Hyuuga have free reign over Konohagakure to shape it how they so saw fit? Having realized his folly, he now frowned upon his prior reasoning and saw fit to leave to get the images from his head of the man he so degraded with his political views.

Orochimaru sat down to rest from his morning walk on an inviting piece of soft grass to let his mind get back up to speed. His well trained eye watched the treetops and forest floor for any form of movement before he took off his shade and pulled his hair back into a pony tale to keep it out of his vision. A cool blast of air greeted his hot face as he exhaled. It felt good to be out doors and not cramped up in a stuffy apartment.

Just then, movement caught Orochimaru's eye: the flash of a kunai. He caught it easily between two fingers and then rolled back against a tree before starting to morph into it in a much more hasty fashion that he'd probably regret later. He brought himself up on the top branch of the tree from which the kunai had come. He hadn't expected to see someone there so was not surprised when he saw no one. He glanced down to his right and saw a teenage boy standing with his back to him.

Orochimaru quickly deduced that it was one of the Uchiha that was said to have joined the Akatsuki and calmly frowned before he was kicked from the branch. He landed skillfully on his feet a good bit away from the teenage boy and pulled a kunai from his sleeve and whizzed at the person on the branch he had been kicked from.

The teenage boy caught the blade and sent it back at the older man, who was no longer in the place he had been in a second ago. The boy raised an eye brow and looked to where Orochimaru's hat had been not two seconds prior and discovered it gone. "He's gone," He announced to his fellow.

The man in the tree joined the boy on the ground. "I wouldn't say that…" He folded his arms over his chest. "That was Orochimaru, the defected Sannin. Don't think he'd give up that easily if there's killing to be done."

Orochimaru grinned melodiously down at the two men. "Well observed, Uchiha-san," He complimented from the tree branch on which he sat. He set his hat aside on the branch beside him. "I assume you are the two Uchiha to join the Akatsuki?"

The teenager made a move to throw another kunai at the man but the elder caught his arm. "No need to throw things at him. He's our ally for the time being," He corrected before directing his attention to Orochimaru. "So you have been informed. Were you sent to greet us?"

Orochimaru laughed in a scoffing manner. "Why would _I_ be sent to do the work of some one lesser? Oh, yes, I foresee that happening _very_ soon."

The elder scowled at the man. "Then why are you out here?"

"I don't answer to you…" Orochimaru shrugged simplistically and flipped backwards out of the tree after grabbing his shade. He donned his shade again and bowed mockingly to the two Uchiha. "Perhaps I shall see you within the base sometime…" He flashed a small grin at them. "Until then, farewell…" In the sounding of a snap of one's fingers, Orochimaru was gone from sight.

"Why do I think I'm not going to get along with him?" The teenager asked his elder.

"Because no one in our family gets along with Orochimaru," The elder shrugged. "It's that simple, but that's only because he attitudes have changed a lot…"

The boy shook his head dismally.


	3. Chapter Three

"Konohagakure," The third Hokage announced loudly to the huge coagulation of ninja before him. "I am pleased to present you with your new Hokage!" He stepped aside to reveal Yondaime standing directly behind him donning the Hokage's robes.

The crowd broke into cheers, whistles, and hollers for the new Hokage. All but one rejoiced of the new Hokage, and the one that remained silent stood in the farthest back corner as she could be. The sullen faced Mitarashi Anko frowned at her sensei's rival, but no less kept her mouth tugged into a thin line. "Che…" She muttered to herself before turning and stalking off into a back alley. "They give me a head ache…" She sighed loudly and disappeared into her apartment complex.

In the Akatsuki facility, Orochimaru sat filing his nails and listening to Deidara talking himself through a crossword puzzle. "Kamari?" The blonde questioned out loud as he tried the spaces. "No… Hm…"

Orochimaru let his eye brow go up as he watched the blonde make a perplexed look at the puzzle. "Why are you having such difficulty with it?" He offered out his hand. "Let me see, Deidara-san."

"You'll figure it out in an instance," Deidara objected. "I want to puzzle this one through. It's a level nine out of ten. I got the one that Pein gave me last week in less time than this, and that one was harder. I will figure this out eventually, hm…" He sounded extremely determined as he scanned the page for spelling errors.

Orochimaru peered over the top. "You spelled kanashimi wrong…" The snake pointed out with a grin.

"What? Aw man…" The blonde declared after a moment before he erased his erasable pen marks. "Stupid dyslexia…"

Orochimaru shook his head and let the grin disappear from his face when he noticed two new arrivals in the room. One was Uchiha Itachi and the other was a man he hadn't laid eyes on before. He made move to rise when the unknown man held up his hand, indicating for him to stop, which Orochimaru did so with eyes narrowed vilely at the man.

"You must be Deidara-san and Orochimaru-sama…" The unknown man remarked from behind his wooden mask that only had one eye hole. "I am Tobi. Deidara-san, I will be your new partner."

Orochimaru swallowed a comment while the blonde, oblivious to what was going on, snapped his fingers in triumph. "Aha!" He declared cheerfully. "It wasn't kanashimi that goes there… It's kurushimi, which then makes kamari fit!" He smiled happily. "Told you I would get---Oh!" The blonde sounded extremely surprised when he noticed the two nin standing in the room. "Hi there…" He remarked uncertainly.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes while Itachi cracked a momentary grin. Tobi sighed from beneath his mask. "Deidara, I'm you're new partner," He repeated again.

"I needed one?" The blonde inquired to Orochimaru. "I thought I was doing splendid without one…"

Orochimaru shrugged. "Take that up with Pein, but you're not alone in your thoughts. I got landed with one two, whether I liked it or not."

"The other one?" Deidara pointed at Itachi.

Orochimaru thought this as humourous and laughed accordingly. "Hah! That'll be the day," He snickered at Deidara. "No, did you see that red head walking around? He's my partner."

"Yikes," Deidara noted with a small smirk. "I'm slightly jealous. I would kill to have a very artistic partner. I would regard them highly, hm."

"I'd offer to switch you, but I work better alone…" Orochimaru sighed and snatched Deidara's pen from his hand. "Is the one on the back the one you did yesterday?" He inquired as he examined the back of the puzzle the blonde was writing on.

Deidara blinked a couple of times and turned the paper over in his hands. "No, this is the one I did the day before. It was really easy for something that Pein came up with…"

"That's disappointing," Orochimaru added with satire, snatching the paper from the blonde and reading over it. "Well, Deidara-san, I'm surprised you missed a very simple one…"

The blonde cocked his head. "Are you talking about what I was saying aloud, hm?"

The Sannin nodded his head. "It's rather surprising. I would expect you of all people to get that without any kind of problem. Isn't it an artistic term after all?"

"I suppose it could. I know it is when it comes to poetry, but I don't particularly like poetry even though it is a form of art…"

Itachi cleared his throat. "Do either one of you perhaps know the location of Hoshigaki Kisame?"

"What do you want with me, boy?" Kisame's voice asked from the other entrance way to the kitchen.

"I'm your partner," Itachi remarked with a scowl. "Uchiha Itachi, and I would prefer that you didn't call me boy."

Kisame shrugged his shoulders. "You're a boy to me until I know what you can do, kid."

Orochimaru felt himself share a grin with Kisame as he handed the paper back to Deidara, who quickly pocketed it. "So, Tobi," Deidara started, "did Pein-sama send you to tell me anything besides the fact that I am your partner, hm?"

"None that I can recall," The masked man replied with a shrug.

"Good!" The blonde declared with a great smile. "I'm tired so I'm going to go to bed. Doesn't that sound like a good idea, Orochimaru-sama, hm?"

"Yes, bed does sound rather nice, but I promised Kisame that I would show him to a bar I found that he would enjoy," The black haired man smiled coolly. "Care to come along, that is if Kisame-san doesn't mind?" He cast a glance to Kisame.

"He can come if he wants," Kisame remarked with a shrug. "I don't care. Either way, I'm not hanging around with Zetsu. That guy gives me the creeps and that's saying something."

"Sure, I'll go along," Deidara decided. "I haven't been out in a looooonnnnnnnngggggg time. It'll be nice to get out, hm."

"Do we not get offered to come?" Itachi asked indignantly.

"Why would _we_ want _you_ to come?" Orochimaru flashed a grin. "I don't like people from Konohagakure, especially not Uchiha. I wouldn't want to have the possibility of a good time ruined just because you were there. I wouldn't enjoy that in the least."

"And I don't want the masked man to come because I just don't like the idea of it," Kisame remarked. "Talk about embarrassing. Who wants to walk around in a mask like that? Even ANBU have more grace than that."

"I was an ANBU," Orochimaru shot darkly. "I'd watch your step with those comments, Kisame."

Deidara laughed as Kisame backed off a little bit and let a comment die in his throat. "Alright you two, cool it," Deidara stated perhaps a bit too fatherly. "We don't need people bleeding at only--" He turned around to glance at the clock on the stove's time. "--six in the evening."

"Oh that's right…" Orochimaru pondered thoughtfully. "I completely forgotten that rule. Wasn't it no one was allowed to bleed before seven?"

Kisame nodded his head after mock thinking. "I believe so! Well, now that that's decided, shall we go?"

"Yes, we shall!" Deidara stood up and followed the older men out of the room, leaving Itachi and Tobi in the kitchen by themselves.

"First day here, and I already don't like them…" Itachi muttered to himself as he rolled his scarlet Sharingan eyes.

"Tell me about it," Tobi remarked with a shaking of his great wooden head. "Well, I'm going to follow them. How about you?"

"And piss Orochimaru off? How about not?" Itachi remarked coolly. "He's freaky when he gets mad. I've watched some excellent ninja die by his hand just because they made him mad… I'm going to go unpack since we're not going with them…" The boy turned and sauntered nonchalantly out of the room leaving Tobi in the kitchen.

"Forget unpacking," The man remarked aloud. "I'm getting food…" He opened the sparse refrigerator.


	4. Chapter Four

Months have passed since Uchiha Itachi and "Tobi" have joined our ranks in the Akatsuki. I still haven't given up my dreams of becoming an immortal. I will succeed and become one of the strongest ninja that have ever roamed this planet. Everyone will know my name and fear its mention. All will be as planned if only I could acquire Sharingan. I will succeed, mark my words.

I have lied though. Not all will be as I planned. I still miss one crucial part of my being. I miss my dear love. She has departed from me and I know not where she. Once I find her be it before or after I acquire my Sharingan, I will truly have been able to completely all of my personal goals. I will then be a full individual and will no longer feel the pain of isolation from my lost love.

Orochimaru's script wrote across the paper in a melancholy fashion. As he had written, it had been months since Uchiha Itachi and Tobi had joined the Akatsuki, and Orochimaru had nearly completed all the necessary trails and preparations to take on a younger host body. This host body was to give him immortality.

The simple thought of becoming an immortal brought a genuine smile fanged smile of malice to the snake lord's pale visage. He would be able to rule the world with that power and never dare fear another threatening his reign of terror, but oh how he longed to see his lost love so much more than he wanted that immortality. His loneliness would be the most likely cause for his death provided that the host body didn't fight back.

As the preparations for such Orochimaru's ritual to become an immortal, things slowly started to change in the Akatsuki. One night the Sannin lord would find himself staring at his bed room walls with sleep tugging at his eyes, and on the next, he would find his veins pulsing with excitement as the mission he went on became more and more rigorous. On yet other nights still, he would sit awake and plot what he would do with his immortality and pine for the woman he loved dearly.

All of this seeming normal things would change in a blinking instant when Orochimaru finally decided it was time to test his immortality jutsu.

Orochimaru sat in his bed room with only a candle's light to aide him to see. Spanning out before him was his precious work, his ritual papers. He poured hours upon hours into these scripts and finally after long grueling months and years he would finally put them to the test. He rose from his great oak desk and disappeared from his room. He great fanged smile prominent on his features.

Orochimaru's feet carried his quickly to where he knew the Uchiha lay resting from the day's work. He also knew that the boy had consumed nearly all of his chakra and would be most vulnerable at near midnight. He cracked the door open barely a hair when he reached the slumbering Uchiha's door and peered inside.

Itachi lay asleep on his bed with his back to the door. The blankets were pulled up well over his shoulders but not quite to cover his head. His side moved slowly up and down with his calm breathing. The boy had no clue of Orochimaru's plans.

Orochimaru slid silently into the room, closing the door firmly and quietly behind him. Now was no time for mistakes. Too many of those mistakes had cost him far too much in the past. He would not mess this up now.

He brought himself over to the slumbering Uchiha's bedside and peered down at his face. The boy's eyes were closed and small smile graced his lips at something in his dream. Orochimaru cracked a grin and placed a cool hand on Itachi's temple. His other hand moved quickly over the repeated hand signs to perform the jutsu. His long tapered fingers moved fluidly through the jutsu, but he was interrupted before he could complete the jutsu.

Itachi had aroused when Orochimaru's cold finger tips touched his temple, and his body instinctively lashed out at the intruder. "Damn it," He heard Orochimaru swear before the Sannin disappeared into a pile of ash.

The Uchiha sat up and glanced at the small droplets of cool blood on the floor. He blinked incoherently. "What the hell?" His sleepy tone asked the empty room. "What the hell just happened?"

Orochimaru recoiled in his bathroom clutching his bleeding side. The cut wasn't deep, he mentally rejoiced, but it was deep enough to get him out of the room to deal with the blood. His cool blood dripped over his pale digits as his other hand fumbled through his medical salves and pills as it looked for bandages and a particular salve.

Orochimaru had been perhaps a little too careless with the boy. He should have realized that the Uchiha would have been a light sleeper. He fumed as his foolishness and how easily he had been injured. If he hadn't let his guard down, everything would have been all right. He wouldn't have been injured.

Orochimaru was furious with himself by the time he finally grabbed the correct bandages and salve. He shed himself of his night shift and cleansed the wound with cool soapy water, which stung the inside of it greatly. He discarded the rag and dried the area around the wound, gently dabbing the towel about it as to not irritate it. He gently dabbed the salve along the outer edge of the wound to ease the bleeding and slowly moved into the center. He gradually eased the bandage on around his side and finally sank into his bed several minutes later still angry with himself.

There was no way he wasn't going to hear about his attempt to kill Itachi, as Itachi would take it, in the morning. He let out an agitated breath. Perhaps his trusted medic Amachi was having far better luck with his experiments than the Sannin lord was. Well, there was only one way to find that out. Orochimaru decided that night it was time to leave the Akatsuki. When, he wasn't too sure of, but he certainly wasn't going to hang around to explain his secrets to Pein.

Meanwhile, Anko sat up panting in her bed. The Cursed Seal of Heavens on her neck pulsed red and slowly spread out. She cringed and dug her nails into it, hoping to ease the pain it cause if only a little. The eighteen year old girl winced hugely and uttered a small cry of pain as the throbbing turned to stinging. She bit her lip. What on earth could be making her mark react like this? Wasn't it supposed to be sealed?

She glanced over at her clock, which now read 3:28 AM in bright red LED lights. "Ugh!" She announced as more pain washed over her. "Wasn't this supposed to be sealed?" She inquired through gritted teeth. "What's going on here?"

She slowly pulled herself up out of her bed. She had to tell the third Hokage. There was no way this could possibly wait until morning after the fit he threw whenever he found out it had originally been hurting her. She pulled on her shoes and over coat and was out her front door still clutching the burning mark on her neck.

Juro-gumo (Nephila clavata) is a species of spider that lives in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China. Here, Pein is referring to its part of Japanese folklore. Jorogumo was said to be able to transform from spider into a beautiful woman that seduced men, and the men once caught in her seduction were tied up and to be eaten.


	5. Chapter Five

Orochimaru gazed out over the great emptiness of the planes in the land of Honey. The wind whistled through the trees and blew his midnight hair into his face. Beside him, his discarded Akatsuki clothing and shade were smeared with blood and moderately torn. His slender hand pulled the sleeve to a shift up over his shoulder blade, and his smirk dominated his features as he let his gaze land upon feudal building vibrantly decorated with lanterns, streamers, and other sorts of other decorations announcing a huge festival taking place. "Ah… Amachi-san, I'm glad you could make it…" He remarked to the newly appeared medic ninja.

Amachi bowed respectfully to the Sannin. "That was rather short notice that you summoned me on. Am I to assume that there is a change in the plans?" He raised an eye brow and the smirking snake.

"Of course," Orochimaru stated coolly. "Look over there to the palace. Wouldn't it be perfect for a crown jewel?" He stared straight ahead and never once looked at the medic's puzzled face.

"Forgive me if I sound as if I'm doubting out, Orochimaru-sama, but just how do you intend to take such a heavily guarded palace without man power?" Amachi blinked questioningly at the Sannin. The medic honestly thought it as lunacy and that thought was just as far fetched as Orochimaru taking over an encampment of rouge nin celebrating a new leader or just throwing a celebration for no good reason.

Orochimaru's smirk widened. "I was hoping you would ask that," His tone was too amused for Amachi to feel safe any longer and the medic's stomach turned over within his body accordingly.

"Pein-sama!" Deidara rushed into the man's office and threw open the doors. "Orochimaru is gone!" The blonde informed him in one breath. "Did you foresee his departure by any strange stroke of luck?"

Pein snapped his gaze to the blonde Iwagakure defect. "You're lying," He shot plainly. "Explain yourself."

Deidara threw Orochimaru's head band onto the desk before the Akatsuki leader. "Now do you believe me? I wouldn't have come across this unless I was lying."

Pein gaped aghast at the memorabilia on his desk. "You have got to be kidding…" He breathed. "We have no one to match his power presently. Shit!" He cupped his face in his hands. "Now what the hell are we going to do?"

"Uh… hope for the best, hm? Yeah, that sounds like a good plan, don't you think Pein-sama?" Deidara offered up hopefully.

"Deidara, that's rhetorical. GET OUT!" Pein roared at the top of his lungs.

Deidara ducked to avoid a book and fled from the room to inform Kisame of his findings.

"They're coming!" A Kaguya watchman shouted to the preparing army. "They'll be here in a few moments!"

The Kaguya infantrymen stood at the ready with zambatou drawn. "Charge!" The Kaguya general ordered above all the other voices and shortly following his command the rushing of feet to battle, war cries, and the sound of flesh hitting flesh filled the air about the manor home.

Inside, a single mother rushed down passageway after passageway. Her face was beaded with sweat as she rushed to the room where her child was suspended from the ceiling for he was thought to be too murderous. "Kimimaro-kun!" She cried out to her eight year old child.

The little boy's face peered over the edge of the cage at the woman near the crank on the wall, which she slowly began to turn to let the cage down. Unable to understand what she was doing, he watched her inquisitorially. He slowly felt the cage beginning to come down.

Once the cage was on the ground, the mother crouched in front of the little boy and reached through the bars to touch his soft skin. She pulled his face as close to the bar as she got get it and pressed her pale lips to his forehead. "I came to say good bye…" She muttered softly to him.

"Kasumi!" A rough male voice roared from the entrance of the room in such a way that it sent shivers down Kasumi's spine. "Wench! You _know_ you're not allowed to be in here with him! You get away from him right _now_!"

"I love you, Kimimaro-kun," Kasumi whispered hastily as the male yanked at her shoulder. "Don't you forget that." Her finger tips trailed across the little boy pale cheek as the man led her away.

Kimimaro reached his arm out and stretched his fingers hoping to grab his mother's outstretched hand. Sadness hung back in his eyes, but he knew better than to say anything when another male was in the room. Little did he know, that would be the last time he would see his mother because the rough male that dragged her from the room would kill her within the hour for "disobedience."

On the outskirts of the gorgeous palace in the Land of Honey, Orochimaru snuck his way into the outer courtyards where many variant forms of celebrations were taking place. Two Kabuki theaters were actively competing with each other on either side of the entrance after those two theaters were lanes of venders. Many games were being played near the entrance to the great palace.

Without much difficulty, Orochimaru brought himself up to the balcony on the second floor and disappeared into the confines on the other side. He had entered into a small little parlor-like room with a table and a few pillows. He heard the door beginning to open, and he hid himself behind one of the columns in the room.

A dark haired maid entered the room. She looked puzzled at the open balcony door, shook her head to herself, and closed the doors. She locked them and turned back to the pail of water and cleaning cloth she had brought. With a dismal look on her face, she began to clean the small room. She gently put the sitting pillows on the table and wiped down the floors, drying as she went.

When her work was completed with that part of the room, she closed the door and started cleaning in. Orochimaru decided now would be an excellent time to reveal himself. He stalked behind her silently and wrapped a hand around her mouth to keep her from screaming. "Considering you're a maid, you must know your way around here very well," He noted into her ear. "Surely, you know where they keep their blueprints."

The maid's hair stood on end, and she struggled to control her breathing and the urge to gasp. "Why should I help you?" She inquired through his cold skin. "I get treated badly enough as it is."

"I can get you out of this situation. I can tell you're a ninja with no way out of here," Orochimaru offered up coolly.

The woman cast a small glare at him out of the corner of her eye. "And if I tell you I'm on a mission?"

"I'm not going to believe you…" Orochimaru semi-shrugged. "So you might as well except my offer. I don't demand you come back with me once I leave here, just as long as I get a blueprint for this place."

The maid considered it. "Fine, but you'll have to come back once this party is over. I can't have you interfering with my duties here. I don't need to get into trouble again," She informed him evenly.

"I warn you now," Orochimaru hissed. "If you go back on this, your life is forfeit. Keep that in mind." He backed away from her and disappeared.

The maid shuddered. "That had to have been Orochimaru," She muttered to herself. "I don't want to think of what he could possibly be planning…"

Orochimaru decided it best to hang around in the festivities instead of going back to his rented tea house room. He actually gave it an honest try to have some fun now that he was free of his duties to the Akatsuki. Because of this fact, he probably was a bit to lax in his guard because somewhere in that crowd was Konan and little did she know that Orochimaru was plotting to take control of the beautiful gem and turn it into a great fortified city instead of just a palace.

As promised, the maid Orochimaru had run into earlier brought the blueprints to him but refused to hand them over until he took her far enough away from the palace in such a way that she could return to her home village.

Orochimaru raised an eye brow. "Just how far do you need to go?" He inquired warily. He was tired and quiet sick of making deals with people for the day.

"I need to go at least a hundred plus miles to the east of here," The maid informed him plainly. "If you don't want to take me, I'll return these back to the document room and report you to the guards right this very instant."

"No, I'll take you," Orochimaru rolled his eyes. "I said I would, did I not? I like to assume that I am a man of my word."

"Very well," The maid remarked in a dismissive tone. "Could we get going then?"

"Of course," Orochimaru took her by the arm and jumped off into the distance.


	6. Chapter Six

Once the blood chilling war cries and the sounds of destruction died down, the eight year old Kaguya finally freed himself from the cage holding him inside the manor house. He peered hesitantly around the corner of the door and into the hallway before risking slipping out into the deathly silent hall ways.

The stones beneath the Kaguya's feet felt extremely cold in their lack of use. His gaze lingered here and there whenever he thought there should be another person in the hallways when there wasn't. His remembrance of the place was a little shaky because it had been awhile since he walked the paths alone.

Only when he heard a door open and a voice float to his ears over the sound of the shutting door did it even occur to him that he could very well be the last one in his family alive. Senses poised, he hid himself expertly within the great gallery before him. He crouched on one of the topmost platforms attached to one of the great columns in the gallery as the ninja passed below him. The ninja was shortly joined by a Shinobi hunter, and to his surprise, he realized the ninja talking to the Shinobi hunter was another Kaguya.

"When do I get paid?" This Kaguya was asking the Shinobi hunter when the thought dawned on the boy above them.

"Once we make sure no one else is left," The cool sounding Shinobi hunter responded from behind his mask. "We don't want anything botched up now that we've successfully been rid of your pesky race."

The Kaguya nodded bitterly and swooshed down another corridor to check for survivors in some of the hidden rooms. The Kaguya boy, meanwhile, swooped down from the column and landed soundlessly behind the masked Shinobi Hunter. He pounced on the man and easily snapped his neck with a loud crack. The boy quickly shot down the hallway he had just come down before the older Kaguya had enough time to think as to what happened.

The boy disappeared into the upstairs rooms with the older male behind him. The boy was fast, but not nearly fast enough to shake the older male who was clearly disturbed by the fact that some one had managed to survive. The boy slinked into what he knew to be his parents old bedroom and ducked into the concealed room connected to it.

"Where the Hell did that little runt go?" The older male's voice carried into the small chamber. "There's no way he could have gone far…" The sound of rummaging was quite prominent in the other room as the young Kaguya pried open the sealed window in the room.

The boy climbed out of it and found himself staring into a courtyard full of destruction and death. His composure slipped for a split moment as his gaze took in the massacre of his people. Shuddering, he pulled himself back together and grasped firmly onto the marble waterline to his left. He began to pull himself up it as the other male came finally into the concealed room.

He had a good minute lead on the man now and could easily escape if he could only get to the roof, which he quickly did. When he did get up there, he noticed that it looked the same as the courtyard below, to his dismay. He darted over to the locked door to the second half of the attic and let himself in after dismantling the lock. He closed the door as it had been and lodged a bone from his finger into the lock. With a grim look on his face, he backed into the confines of the darkness to await the man if he had dared to follow.

Orochimaru lounged out on the new balcony of the palace he had recently conquered. He didn't have much of a staff since he had lost most of them in a poorly fought battle on their behalf, so he wasn't in any hurry to go out to see if others would be willing to join him. He had all he needed at the moment.

The palace was clean, all the corpses were stacked in a huge pile in the far corner of the palace grounds, and he had new clothing. How much better could life get for him right now? He genuinely relished in the feeling of having new skin to spoil now. He smiled mischievously and let a small laugh carry from his lips.

"Sir," Amachi's voice brought Orochimaru back to reality when he had called it from the entrance to the balcony. "We have news that you ought to see."

Orochimaru cocked his head at the medic and took the document from the medical nin. He skimmed it over quickly and made a puzzled face. "The Kaguya?" He inquired in near disbelief. "Killed for acts of war?" He lowered the document so he could bring his gaze back to the medic. "What is the meaning of this?"

"The only thing I can assume, Orochimaru-sama, is that the Kaguya stepped on some one's toes a bit too hard and that was their punishment for such an action," Amachi responded with a shrug. "I would have had, had to be there to give any other kind of explanation though."

"Do you think a betrayal is possible?"

"More than likely. The Kaguya aren't a people to give away their secrets so easily."

"Are there any survivors?" Orochimaru lowered his gaze back to the paper as he asked his question.

"It's quite probable, Orochimaru-sama. They could have easily looked over a small child if said child knew where to hide."

"If a small child could hide well, why couldn't the adults?"

"The adults were fighting to keep their land. It was a battle they thought they could win. Unfortunately, if a betrayal is likely, they would have a slim chance of winning if the Shinobi hunters and Kirigakure elite knew their weakness."

"So it seems…" Orochimaru brooded. "Perhaps I shall have to take a trip out there to see for myself this destruction that you and the article claim. I think it might be worth my while. Who knows? Perhaps, I shall even find some one to bring back. Wouldn't that be enjoyable, do you not think?"

Amachi grinned wistfully. "It would be rather interesting to have a Kaguya running around here. I wouldn't necessarily said it would be enjoyable for me. For you, yes, it would be, but not for me."

Orochimaru grinned back at Amachi. "Go make me something to eat. I'm hungry."

"Can I get some one else to do it?"

"I don't care as long as I get something to eat within twenty minutes."

"Consider it done," And with that, Amachi departed from the balcony.

Orochimaru sighed after the medic and devoted his attention back to the paper clutched in his hands. "All the Kaguya killed?" He questioned aloud again. "Why am I having a hard time believing such a thing?"

"Hey! Mister!" A female's voice shouted from below. "You wanna explain the large pile of bodies in that corner?" She was glaring up at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru cast her a questioning glance and then waved a hand dismissively. He did note that she had a striking pink hair colour. "I don't answer to you," He said in a high priority tone. "Go bother some one else with your antics."

"I did," The pink-haired female shot back. "They all directed me to you! So you wanna tell me what's going on here?"

"Go away," Orochimaru retorted. "You're a pesky little girl who's sticking her nose where it shouldn't be stuck."

"Yeah, well, if you don't answer me, I'm going to go turn you into the nearest group of ANBU I can find. And from the looks of things, that will more than likely be Amegakure's ANBU."

Orochimaru stared blankly down at her and let out a breath sigh. "You are annoying, aren't you?" He muttered to himself. "Look," He said to the little girl. "What's going on here is truly none of your business. I'm in charge here and that means I can do as I please."

"How do you figure that one?" The girl put her hands on her hips. "There's a whole whopping three people here besides me."

"What's your point?"

"Some power you've got, mister."

Orochimaru rolled his eyes. "Don't you have parents you can bother with your stupid little antics? I'm sure they would much rather hear what you have to say. I for one certainly don't care even if you tell the ANBU. If you tell the ANBU that Orochimaru's here in the villa, they will either scoff at you or tell you they will come to extradite me to Konohagakure but would never actually do such a foolish thing."

The girl got a perplexed look on her face all at once. "What does extradite mean?" She asked in a much more puzzled tone, which was no longer annoying sounding. "I've never heard anyone use that before…"

Orochimaru looked taken aback. "Why _are _you here?"

"Well, I wanted to know what all the commotion was about," The girl returned simply with a shrug. "But I don't know what the commotion was about and I still don't know what extradite means…"

Orochimaru glanced over his shoulder to see Amachi walking in. "Amachi-san, come here."

The medic obeyed, and Orochimaru pointed down to the courtyard below. "Does she look like she would have any kind of talent to you?"

"She looks like an orphan to me, Orochimaru-sama…" Amachi answered honestly. "But if she's managing to survive on her own with such a minimal amount of chakra, I'd say yes, she has potential… Why would you ask such a question though?""No reason," Orochimaru remarked with a sly smirk. "Tell me, girl, do you have a place to go home to?"

The girl stuck her tongue out. "If you would look at the way I'm dressed, what do you think the answer is?"

"You don't. Good," Orochimaru ran his tongue over the lower edge of his fangs. "Would you like somewhere to live?"

The girl's face brightened. "You would do that?"

"On one condition," Orochimaru countered. "Not a word goes to those ANBU and you have to tell me what style jutsu you can do."

"I won't say anything," The girl returned in a jovial tone as she pulled out a small silver flute from a satchel attached to her waist. "It's not much, but I can manipulate sound and use it as a weapon."

Orochimaru and Amachi exchanged grins. "Perfect," Orochimaru remarked in a pristine hiss. "Come inside. We'll get you some new clothing and some food…"

The girl would have squealed if she hadn't figured that it would probably not be well received. She practically car wheeled into the great palace all the while Amachi and Orochimaru stood grinning at each other.

"So begins the empire," Amachi surmised.

"So it begins," Orochimaru concurred.


	7. Chapter Seven

The pink-haired girl bounced happily around the corridors of the palace in clean clothes and in light spirits. She had even dared to step out into the courtyard just once to see if one of her friends from the old village had appeared. She would always keep her eyes peeled for them, lest what happened to her became known to the group she had boarded with. There would be no need to alert any of the ninja waking within the corridors of the outside world.

Just before midnight, another young child appeared at Orochimaru's door step. His hair was mangled with many knots, his face was bloody, and his clothes were torn. All of these factors suggested he had gotten into a fight with some one. He more or less collapsed onto the front porch of the great palace and lay there until the pink-haired girl found him.

The girl jolted up the stairs to where she knew Amachi would be sitting dealing and going over the papers and scrolls that had been in the palace at the time it was taken. "Amachi-san!" She announced as she flew into the room. "There's a boy downstairs on the front porch. He doesn't look good."

Amachi cast her an annoyed glance but got up from his seat to investigate no less. He found the another boy emerging out of the unconscious one on the front porch. The emerging boy seemed absolutely terrified. "Sakon-kun?" He prodded the other light-haired boy's shoulder in fear. "S--Sakon?" He sounded as terrified as he looked until his gaze landed on Amachi and the spying pink-haired girl. "What do you want?" His fear vanished instantly as he snarled at the medic.

The medic held up his hands in a calming sort of way. "Calm down, kid. I'm not going to hurt you." He raised an eyebrow. "Just what are you?"

"Back off," The boy snarled again. He stood up, letting his head and arms sag as if they were limp until he straightened himself up right. "I don't answer to you!" He lashed a senbon or two at the medic, who backed off respectfully.

The boy bent down to the unconscious one and placed a hand on his shoulder, never once taking his eyes from the medic. "Wake up," He commanded as he prodded the other again. "You need to get up _now_."

"What's going on, Amachi-san?" Orochimaru inquired from beside where the senbon were now stuck in the wall. "And who is that?"

"Well," Amachi sighed hugely. "Tayuya came to get me when she noticed that there was a boy unconscious. When I got out here, there was another coming out of his back and trying to get the other one to wake, Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru brushed past to see the frenzied boy glaring daggers at him. "Don't you come _any_ closer." The boy warned in a low growl.

Orochimaru smirked. "Do you know who I am?" He shot in a cool voice.

"I don't know, and I don't care. You just stay away from me." The boy prodded the other again. "Come on, wake up, you useless thing!"

Orochimaru shook his head. "Well, little boy, perhaps you ought to start caring because I can get the other boy to wake up if he's so important to you."

The boy snapped his gaze to Orochimaru. "What do you want?" He growled. "My brother told me someone else would come to the door. Not some cranky looking old guy," He pointed at Amachi. "Or an annoying pink-haired brat, or some weirdo who came out in his bed clothes!" The boy punched what Orochimaru took to be his brother in the shoulder. "And then he goes and passes out! Stay away from me!" He shrieked as Orochimaru started to approach him.

"Calm down," Orochimaru soothed. "Who did your brother say would answer the door?"

"A woman," The boy snapped. "And there certainly isn't on here any more, is there?"

Orochimaru considered that. "Perhaps there is. Did he say what she looked like?"

"No, he didn't. Go away. I don't want to talk to you."

Orochimaru grinned. "Of course not. One moment." He disappeared into the building leaving both Amachi, Tayuya, and the boy looking extremely confused.

When he returned, Orochimaru had a woman of middle age for a ninja with him. She was one of the servants in the kitchen and instantly paled upon seeing the two boys. The conscious boy seemed a little more at ease when he saw her, but wasn't entirely sure if she was the girl that his brother had been talking about. "You," He snapped at Orochimaru. "Wake my brother up."

"Of course," Orochimaru remarked placidly with a remarkable amount of patience in a place where another ninja would have been killed. He bent down a performed the simple jutsu and the other boy woke up almost instantly.

"Ukon, what the _hell_ are you doing?" The now conscious boy demanded as his brother winced a little. The boy sat up, making the other boy almost completely disappear into his torso. "What have you been doing to my head? It feels like it exploded!"

"Sorry brother," Ukon apologized quickly and then directed a pointer finger towards the woman standing directly to the left of Orochimaru. "Is that her, Sakon? I don't like those other people," He whispered.

Sakon eyed the woman up incoherently and then gave an uncertain nod. "I think so… She looks like who I was told to look for… I don't like the look of them either…"

The woman settled a nervous look on Orochimaru as she cautiously approached the two boys. "Sakon, Ukon, you should show a little more respect to Orochimaru-sama," She remarked timidly. "He's in charge here now."

Both boys gave her an apologetic glance in unison. "Sorry, Atsuko-san…" Sakon apologized first. He gave her another incoherent glance. "What happened to Kawayama-mikoto?"

Atsuko fumbled with her friends while Orochimaru's eye brow went up. "This is someone you neglected to mention, Atsuko." He scolded coldly. "Explain."

Atsuko swallowed hugely. "Uh… Orochimaru-sama," The woman turned to him with frightened eyes before she threw herself into a boy at his feet. "Forgive my negligence! I wasn't thinking about it. I will be more careful from here on out, I swear to you."

"That isn't telling me what I want to hear. Who is the Kawayama?"

"Kawayama is the owner of this palace. It's unlikely that news of its taking will reach his ears until he sends guards here. He hails from Yugakure but that is merely the city of his birth. He came over to this land instead to start a new future for himself," Atsuko found herself explaining. "He probably won't be around anytime soon. He comes here for festivals and then leaves. He left an hour or two before your attack, and he certainly won't be back until at least next year if not later."

Orochimaru eyed the boys. "Are they decent ninja?" He asked Atsuko after a moment passed.

Atsuko brought her gaze back to the Sannin. "I feel they are perfectly capable genin, sir."

Orochimaru flashed a grin at Amachi, who returned it. "Well, Amachi-san, get those two cleaned up. I'm sure they'll behave since they know Atsuko's alive." He let his gaze settle on the boys. "I trust you two can behave yourselves or Atsuko's life will be forfeit."

Both boys nodded glumly to show they understood and accepted the Sannin's demands. "Could we negotiate clean clothing?" Ukon inquired in a no longer hostile but rather pleasant tone. "Well, at least for Sakon…" He made a face at the boy's tattered and bloody clothing.

"Of course," Orochimaru brooded. "Atsuko can get you both some while Amachi cleans you both up. I'll test your abilities tomorrow to see what exactly you can do…" He promptly handed his attention to Amachi. "I would like to go visit the Kaguya manor sometime soon. Please see to it that the necessary preparations are taken for me to take such a visit by the end of this week after you get those two cleaned up, Amachi-san. I don't want anything sloppy being done."

"Consider it done," Amachi returned. "Sakon and Ukon, come with me."

Sakon got to his feet and his brother disappeared into his back ask the boy followed hesitantly after the medic as Atsuko went another way. Orochimaru turned to Tayuya. "Go do something," He ordered simplistically before he strutted off towards the confines of his room.


	8. Chapter Eight

The seventeen year old Mitarashi Anko stood next to a seventeen year old jonin Hatake Kakashi over looking the recently conquered palace in the Land of Honey. She glanced at him, a nervous shadow in her eyes. "Are you sure it's safe to be standing so close to it?" She inquired softly. "These people are probably extremely dangerous to have caused such a bloody pile of bodies…"

"Actually, Mitarashi," Kakashi corrected lazily, "it is quite the opposite. There are very few occupants in the palace presently. It moderately surprises me that they haven't left to recruit some fresh blood."

"Is that good or bad for us?"

"Well, it could go either way. Good because there's less ninja to worry about. Bad because that means only the strong or extremely luck survived." Kakashi frowned beneath his mask.

Anko let out a breath and cast her gaze over the corners of the palace and then to the area surrounding her and the masked nin. "I get a bad vibe from this place, and no, Hatake, it's not because there's a large pile of bodies in the one corner."

Kakashi snorted a breath. "What kind of bad vibe?"

"Like, S-rank criminal bad vibe," Anko returned coolly. "It can't be good that we're only two ninja and don't know exactly who or what is in there."

Kakashi shrugged. "Adds to the sense of adventure." He started off at his usual pace down towards the outskirts of the palace.

Anko got a tested look on her face and glared at his back. "Typical male…" She growled under her breath but nonetheless followed him.

Since Anko was the female, she naturally suggested getting disguises to avoid looking so conspicuous in their ANBU garb. Kakashi finally caved but insisted that he get a see through blind fold. Anko begrudgingly allowed him to. Passing him as blind would be much easier than having to explain to a guard why he had a Sharingan if they tried to get in.

When both were prepared to enter, they had a startling surprise. Three Shinobi Hunters from Kirigakure entered the compound. Exchanging glances, Anko and Kakashi stalked behind them silently to avoid detection when they entered the compound. The three Shinobi Hunters led them straight up to the main entrance and deep into the palace's confines. Finally, the group stopped and were emitted into the throne room. Kakashi and Anko pressed their ears to the now closed doors.

"Well, well, Akiyama, Motokawa, and Yamashima, this is certainly an excellent surprise," A voice greeted the three from within the throne room.

The names made Anko's eyes widen. She had heard those names before, but she couldn't quite place where or when.

"It is our honour, Mikoto," One of the three Shinobi Hunters returned. "We were requested to come to you."

There was a cold laugh. "So you were." Then came a pause. "Tell me. How did the Kaguya massacre come to end?"

"They are all dead, Wagakimi," Another answered. "At least, that is what our superiors tell us. We are forbidden to go through their files. Even Yamashima isn't allowed."

"That is saying something… What else happened? Yamashima, can you tell me anything I don't already know?"

"I could very well, Kunteki," Yamashima answered in a nonchalant tone. "I have sources that tell me there are three Kaguya presently alive. One is a little boy of eight. They believe him to be holding himself up somewhere in the house, but he has killed all those that try to approach him. The other two's whereabouts are unknown and it is uncertain whether or not they are even together. One is believe to be a female though, and she will likely be apprehended first if she doesn't find somewhere to hide."

"Hm… Yamashima, have you ever tracked a Kaguya before?"

"On several occasions, Mikoto," Yamashima remarked innocently. "I find them rather hard to keep tabs on especially if they are hidden within the mist."

"Interesting," There was a sigh. "Akiyama, Motokawa, do you have any additional information for me?"

"No sir," The addressed remarked in unison.

"Good, then I know all I need to know. I will be preparing to make a visit out to you three sometime this month… My…assistant should be able to give you an exact data. You should be prepared to take me to the site of the Kaguya manor. I expect to be told of exactly what happened and where. You are dismissed…" The speaker paused to sigh. "My assistant should meet you in the entrance way, and will one of you kindly inform the two outside that they are permitted to come in now that I am done talking to you?"

"Of course, Mikoto," Yamashima answered before his footsteps were heard coming towards the door.

Anko and Kakashi both backed up and pretend like they were talking to each other when Yamashima opened the door and motioned them inside. Respectfully bowing to their lord, he and his fellows disappeared from sight.

Anko and Kakashi both respectfully bowed before lifting their eyes to the one seated in the stone throne before them. There he was in all of his splendor a great warlord. Kakashi bowed again. "Mikoto," He spoke quietly and hurriedly, much unlike his normal tone, "would your kindness so far extend to give two travelers a warm place to lay their heads for a few nights?"

Striking honey eyes trailed over the new visitors with questions hanging in his eyes. "You realize that there is a village less than ten miles from here," He responded coolly. "Why would I let you two foreign ninja into my sanctum?"

Anko bowed and noted the slightly pale tone of his skin. "Please, sir," She stated in a voice that she hoped didn't sound like she was begging too much. "We won't cause you any trouble. We are both extremely exhausted. We've been walking for two days and nights nonstop."

The lord's eye brow went up. "You seem well rested and you both seem to have a substantial amount of chakra left at your disposal."

"Kind lord, please," Kakashi requested in a gentler tone. "If only just a night…"

"What Sakon?" The lord now asked sharply, which called Anko's and Kakashi's attentions to the boy standing in the door way.

"Uh… sorry, sir. I didn't realize that you were talking to people. I'll come back later," The boy apologized with a flushed face as he slid the doors closed and stalked off.

The lord let out an aggravated breath. "I don't trust you foreign nin…"

"Sir," Anko now pleaded. "Is one night too much to ask for? We will remain in our rooms and respectfully oblige to any demands that you place upon."

The lord breathed in a sigh. "One night," He growled with agitation. "Don't expect a place to lay your heads here ever again. I am far too busy to allow this kind of behavior." He snapped his fingers.

Tayuya appeared in the door way. "You called?" She asked with a smile. "What do you need, Wagakimi?"

"Take these two ninja to a room. I don't want them near anything important, understand?"

"Of course, sir! I'll put them in the west wing."

"Good, and make sure you tell Kidomaru took keep an eye one them."

"Will do," Tayuya responded and then she motioned for Anko and Kakashi to follow her. "He's very busy and you're taking up his time. You're lucky he's allowing you to stay here."

The two Konoha nin followed the pink-haired girl down a series of twists and turns until they hit what the girl had called 'the west wing.' She showed them to a spacious room with one king sized bed with adjoining bathroom. "Please don't leave this room under any circumstances, and don't stick your nose out into the hallway if you hear a strange noise. Something is bound to take it off," The girl warned as she began closing the doors. "And don't ask questions. When it's time to eat, one of us will come to get you or bring you food. Sleep well!" She grinned and brought the doors closed and locked with a click.

Anko and Kakashi exchanged glances. This was going to be a very strange night.

"Which one of us gets the floor?" Anko asked jokingly, which caused Kakashi to grin in reply.


	9. Chapter Nine

Some length of days after his family's massacre, the young Kaguya finally reemerged into the outside light from the confines of the attack. His face was pale with worry and his stomach growled loudly. The absence of food in the great black attic brought the boy out of his hiding place. He was about to make his way down to the courtyard below in the inner sanctum when movement near the entrance to the manor caught his eye. He strained his eyes to see if he could make out a coherent shape. There was none, but he could determine that there were at least three people waiting by the entrance.

The Kaguya glanced from entrance to the courtyard. One would have a clear view of the courtyard during the day time perhaps if he waited just a little while longer… He couldn't. He was far to hungry to put food off anymore. He slunk down like a cat stalking their prey and hesitantly brought himself over into the courtyard. He peered down into it and took the back way to the kitchen, which he was quite sure none of the ninja in the entrance way knew about. Once in the kitchen, he found the remnants of some baked good in the ice box and quickly chewed them down even if he would get a stomach ache later. He snuck out into the back entrance foyer and sunk back into the shadows when he say a black haired man examining a corpse a few yards away from him. He brought himself to hide behind two fallen pieces of cement molding and only then did he realize that he had made noise because he could see clearly now the man's golden eyes staring pointedly at the back entrance.

Orochimaru had a puzzled look on his face as he stared at the entrance foyer. "What on earth?" He breathed the question aloud. "They said the boy was in the attic and would not come down for any reason…" He glanced around hesitantly and started forward.

Once Orochimaru was in the view of the young Kaguya, realization hit the boy. That was one of the Sannin from Konohagakure that had come to see the destruction that was brought to his people. He regarded in awe as the Sannin approached the entrance and slowly brought his golden gaze around its interior. "This is quite strange," He heard the Sannin say. "Do they take me for a fool?"

The Kaguya let his eyes stray away from this great Sannin and back into the courtyard. There they were. Not the three men that he assumed had accompanied the Sannin, but at least ten Shinobi Hunters. Now crouching as if he were ready to spring like a cougar, the boy sprinted around behind the Shinobi Hunters and took out the first two in the front before disappearing up into a tree.

With a confused look on his face, Orochimaru whirled around as the two Shinobi Hunters fell. He soon realized that they were not focusing their attack on him but on whatever had killed the first two Shinobi. He narrowed his eyes and waited for the assailant or assailants to reveal themselves.

The Kaguya crouched on a branch staring out over the remaining eight ninja who were frantically trying to locate him. He narrowed his eyes and felt a phlegm starting to develop in his throat. He cursed in his head. Did that dreadful side effect always have to come up whenever he had to fight for something? Completely motionless, he stayed where he was and only allowed the rise and fall of his chest to indicate his breathing.

The Shinobi Hunters were exchanging orders and demands at one another before finally letting their gaze fall again on Orochimaru, who had his eye brow raised in mild suspicion. "Get him!" One of the Shinobi in the back ordered.

Orochimaru stood at the ready for a fight, but by the time the Shinobi Hunters had started to move, pale root like embodiments rising up from the ground which soon brought the doom down on those who were not moving fast enough to escape the piranha-like jaws. The Kaguya emerged out of the ground in group of briar roots and started to cough upon emerging.

Orochimaru quickly took out the remaining Shinobi Hunters with little effort before reeling around to face the choking boy who spontaneously tried to stop his cough and attempted to wipe the blood off his chin. The Sannin approached the boy and moved the hair that shaded his eyes. "So you are the boy that they were talking about," His gently hiss remarked quietly. His eyes trailed down to the boy's slightly bloody lip. His hand gingerly cupped the boy's cheek. "You're very strong."

The Kaguya's cheeks lit up in a small tinge of pink at the Sannin's compliment. He had always been told that his skills were too dangerous to be used, but here was some one who understood how to truly use power. "T--thank you," The boy stammered slightly as the blush came to be stronger.

Orochimaru massaged the area just behind the boy's jaw gently with his finger tips. "You're welcome, little one." He tilted the boy's face upward with his other hand. "What do they call you?"

"Kimimaro," Kimimaro answered quietly.

"A fitting name…" Orochimaru remarked pensively. The corners of his mouth pulled up into a small smile. "Come. You'll come with me," He said in such a way that there would be no argument. He brought himself up to his full height.

Kimimaro got to his feet and stared reverently up at the Sannin. "Are you the one they call Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru smirked. "So you know me…" He took the boy by the shoulder and led him back to where the other ninja were standing respectfully out of earshot.


	10. Chapter Ten

Anko and Kakashi sat together in a tree looking over the palace. "Well, we learned absolutely nothing during our visit…" Kakashi groaned. "That was a total waste of time…"

"We did learn something," Anko pointed out. "We learned the names of some of the people that live there. That in itself could prove useful in the long run."

Kakashi cast her a puzzled vision. "What names?"

"Akiyama, Yamashima, and Motokawa…" Anko answered absently as she recalled the names. "I've heard those names before, but I don't remember where…"

"Perhaps it's just pure coincidence." Kakashi shrugged. "I don't think that you could have possibly have heard of them when I haven't."

Anko scowled at him. "Of course, Mr. Know-It-All…"

Orochimaru now sat on his throne looking greatly pleased with the little Kaguya he had brought home. His fingers were laced in front of his mouth to block out the all too pleased grin. "It's time to test you abilities, Kimimaro," He informed the boy as he entered the stone throne room. "Are you ready for your test?"

"Yes, of course, Orochimaru-sama," Kimimaro answered smoothly in his nonchalant tone as he bowed. "What is this test?"

"You will see momentarily. Come with me…" Orochimaru beckoned him to follow him towards a door which led out to an open balcony and courtyard area within the palace. "Here is your test," He trailed his hand in the air in a sweeping motion to demonstrate that it was to take place in the courtyard below. "I trust you are familiar with the tactics of getting a group to accept you as leader? Good, your test begins now."

Kimimaro cast a questioning glance at his new mentor but listened no less as he leapt down into the courtyard below with his senses high. He slunk around the outer walls of the courtyard looking for signs of life. He didn't have to wait for very long until he saw Tayuya.

The pink-haired was crouching low on a tree branch with her eyes flashing every which direction the girl could think. She signaled something to what the Kaguya took to be Sakon, who instantly responded as he jumped away into the treetops above her. Kimimaro also spotted Kidomaru slinking around in the treetops.

The Kaguya now understood his task. Orochimaru was testing him to see exactly where his powers lie. He grinned. Now he would have some fun for a little bit.

Orochimaru watched with his trademark grin upon his features. He was pleased with his decision and didn't care if the rest of the world knew it. As Kimimaro approached him when the task was completed, Amachi had caught Orochimaru's enthusiasm. "Well done, Kimimaro-san. Orochimaru-sama is most pleased with you."

"I am most glad," Kimimaro returned with too great of a coolness that any other person would have assumed he had just taken a walk instead of rendering four people unconscious easily.

Orochimaru was so exuberant that he could have set off rays of light and other such things if he had been that kind of person. He ran his tongue slowly over his piercing fangs. "I am most pleased indeed…" He brooded more to himself than anyone else. "Amachi-san, clean those four up and make sure they are in functioning condition tomorrow. Kimimaro-kun, if you'll come with me…" He motioned the boy towards the hall that led to his room.

Kimimaro obediently sauntered down that hallway with the Sannin lord close behind.

Yondaime sat behind a great desk with several mounds of paper work when Anko and Kakashi entered the Hokage's office. "Sir, we have nothing to report," The silver haired ninja remarked glumly as Anko opened her mouth to say something.

Yondaime looked highly startled. "You mean to tell me that there is absolutely nothing that was out of the ordinary there?"

"That is correct, sir. The only thing I could really mention is the fact that there were several children running around the palace. We have no way of knowing who's in charge there."

Yondaime looked despaired. "Very well, you two are dismissed."

Kakashi turned and strutted out while Anko stayed rooted to the spot. "Yondaime-sama," She started when Kakashi was out of ear shot. "There is--"

"Not right now, Anko…" Yondaime waved his hand dismissively.

Anko eyes dropped to the floor and a look of knowing depression cleaved across her features. "Yes, Hokage-sama…" She turned and dragged herself from the room even though she could feel in her gut something was not right.

Anko's feet carried her to where she knew Kakashi would be. There she confronted him. "Hatake-san!" She nearly snarled as she came up and knocked the book clear out of his hands and all the way to the other side of the hall. "You do realize how important those names could have been to the Hokage, right?"

Kakashi glared at her. "The Hokage doesn't have time to be chasing your little sensei around for some loose ended ties, Mitarashi-san. You see him everywhere." With that, he snatched up his book and stormed away leaving Anko standing stiffly as if she had been smacked across the face.

Sarutobi watched with dismay as Orochimaru's old apprentice lowered her head in defeat and stalked slowly home with a dejected aura about her. He shook his head lamely and disappeared up into the Hokage's office where Yondaime sat staring at documents trying to completely comprehend them.

"You should at least humour Anko, Yondaime," Sarutobi chided gently in a low tone. "She may have been Orochimaru's apprentice, but that does not make her evil."

Yondaime glanced up from his papers to gave sadly at the old man. "I know, Sarutobi-sama, but I can't help but get this feeling about her. She always seems to be able to relate an event to him no matter how small."

Sarutobi frowned. "Didn't you send them to investigate something that could be near the area of his forward movements? For even one second, could you have assumed that she might know something about his prior relations?"

"I did think of that, but I don't think it would be worth making a fuss over her. I trust Hatake more than I trust her."

"You will listen blindly to Kakashi and not someone that knows his movements because she has seen them first hand? In particular, when those movements directly affect her?"

"Sarutobi-sama, you're taking this too out of hand. Orochimaru was my old rival. I know well enough when he will do something and when he won't do something. The fact that he happened to be over near there is sheer coincidence; there is no way that he could possibly take such a great palace with no men to maintain his land."

Sarutobi shook his head gravely in a show that he disagreed. "Yondaime, you underestimate Orochimaru. He can create power from nothing…" The old man sighed. "It wouldn't even surprise me if he used children to take that palace."

Yondaime devoted his full attention to the old ninja, who returned his grave look. "Kakashi did say something about children running around the place…"

Sarutobi cocked his head. "I was kidding, Yondaime."

"Perhaps, but I don't think Kakashi was…" The Fourth Hokage stood up from his seat. "Did Mitarashi-kun go home?"

Sarutobi nodded quickly. "I do believe she did. If she's not there now, she will be within the hour," He noted as Yondaime rushed briskly by him.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Orochimaru stood on the balcony of his new lavish home. He grinned in self-satisfaction. Not only had he conquered the forbidden palace, but now he also had a home in the mountains to call his own. He had also been very picky in the taking of this new home. Rumour had it that no nin had been spotted in or around the mountain sanctum for many, many years, and this suited the great snake Sannin just fine.

"Orochimaru-sama," Amachi's voice cut through the cool mountain air. "What are you orders for the day…er…night?"

Orochimaru breathed in a gentle chuckle. "Did you already set up the labs?"

Amachi sighed loudly. The labs seemed to be the only thing Orochimaru cared about more than his own personal well being. "Of course, Orochimaru-san. Did you honestly think that I would leave them in disarray so you could snap at me?"

Orochimaru shrugged and finally turned to face the medic. "Go find Sakon and Kimimaro. I have a mission for the two of them to go on."

Amachi sighed once more and departed with a quick nod. No need to ruin Orochimaru's high spirits.

Sakon and Kimimaro entered the Sannin's apartments in the mountain sanctum a few moments after Amachi found both of them in the kitchen eating food. The two boys bowed respectfully to the lounging Sannin. "You summoned us, Orochimaru-sama?" Kimimaro spoke up quietly in a tone filled with hidden adoration.

Orochimaru glanced up from his book to stare at the two boys, who were still knelling before him. "I did. I have a mission for you two to go on," He put his book aside after sliding a page marker into it. "You are to scope out the area to my satisfaction and provide sufficient evidence that there are indeed no other nin in the area or passing through."

"Sufficient evidence?" Sakon cocked his head in a confused manner. "So if we bring back nothing, that's 'sufficient evidence'?"

Kimimaro rolled his eyes. "No, you dolt," He corrected. "What Orochimaru-sama is saying is that we need to bring back the last known details of nin movement in the area, and he will decide if it sufficient evidence."

Sakon rolled his eyes. He knew there was a reason he sometimes couldn't stand Kimimaro. This was one of those times.

Orochimaru chuckled softly so the two couldn't hear him. "Now, now, Sakon, don't get an attitude with Kimimaro right before you are to leave. You won't hear the end of it once you are out of my sights."

"Hai, Mikoto," the boy answered quickly and let his attitude disappear; he'd take it out on Tayuya later. "Forgive me."

Orochimaru waved his hand dismissively. "Anyway, you have two days to map out and collect data on the surrounding ten mile radius of this place. I'm sure you're both fully capable of completing such a mediocre task."

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama," Kimimaro nodded his head swiftly. "We will return by sun down on the second day."

"Good, you're to leave tomorrow morning," The Sannin relayed. "I want no grumbling out of you, Sakon. It will be early because this needs completed as soon as possible."

Sakon made a quick face, but shortly thereafter recovered from it. "I understand."

"Good, you both are dismissed."

The two boys bowed one final time before their feet carried them from the Sannin's chambers: Kimimaro's taking him back to the kitchen to finish his supper and Sakon's departing to his bedroom to rest before the coming morning.

Orochimaru breathed a sigh through his nose after the two boys left. Perhaps he should have sent Kidomaru in Sakon's place. He contemplated that for a moment or two before he dismissed it as both foolhardy and pathetic: Kimimaro would eat Kidomaru alive. He relaxed against his head board before slowly picking up his discarded book. He found the marker he had left in and opened the leather bound book.

His eyes scanned over his old scribblings and found that in the past he felt the same as he did in the present. His eyes narrowed at the page. He had written this particular segment when he was sixteen and was truly perplexed as to how he could have felt so lonely at that age. He breathed a louder, more despaired sigh. What had that woman done to him? He ran his hand over his face and discarded the book once more before he shimmied under the blankets to call it a night.

His eyes stared unblinkly at the ceiling, and he found himself caught somewhere between a dream and reality. His breathing was calm and relaxed like it would be if he were asleep, but he was tense and rigid as if he were anticipating an attack. His eyes glanced coolly over to the curtains, which were drawn to the sides of the window to allow the moon's light to enter the room. He strained his eyes to get a better look out of the window.

A shadow moved hastily through the Sannin's line of vision, which brought the man within the sanctum to a sitting position. The shadow wasn't one of a bat or any night-dwelling creature: it was a human's. The Sannin slipped out from under the covers and started towards the balcony.

As he reached the balcony, Orochimaru could make out two figures in the night. Both were almost directly beneath him. One, he could tell, was female. The other being was too far back in the shadows to have any distinguishing characteristics.

"Sir," The woman spoke first, "I have heard word that there are foreigners in the mountain facility."

"Oh?" The man questioned. "How true do we know this to be?"

"It is only a rumour floating around our town, but I do not doubt it. You did hear about the Forbidden Palace falling less than two months ago, correct? There are whispers that the great Orochimaru himself took that palace single handedly with only a handful of soldiers."

The man laughed at the woman's worries, and Orochimaru could tell that she had flinched. "Oh, Tsubame, you worry so much about that man. He is no threat here, and I am almost certain that he would need more than that to take down Kawayama's forbidden palace."

The woman breathed an uneasy, nervous laugh. "Of course, Kenta, how foolish of me. I hadn't realized that it was more heavily guarded…" She finished nervously. "I should know better than to doubt the lord's strength."

"As you should, Tsubame," Kenta returned coolly with a dark chuckle. "Now why don't you run along to do what ever you ought to be doing? I'm sure that Kawayama-Mikoto has something for you to do, don't you think?"

"Of course Kenta," Tsubame remarked almost instanteously. "I'll go see him right away."

"Good!" Kenta jovially answered before dashing off into the forest and up a hill.

Tsubame let out a nervous laugh after he left. "Orochimaru couldn't be here," She told herself. "I had seen him with an Akatsuki coat on not too long ago talking to Konan near Konohagakure… He couldn't have taken the Forbidden Palace, and he certainly can't be here of all places, right, Tsubame?" She let out a breath and turned back to the direction of the mountain facility. Her eyes were directed at the door beneath the balcony so she had not noticed that Orochimaru was in fact watching her placidly from where he stood encased in shadows. "I suppose there is only one real way to find out…" She started forward.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Orochimaru's voice warned the woman once she was in ear shot. "I can assure that better nin than you have regretted intruding on my lands."

Tsubame stopped dead in her tracks and stared up at the Sannin, mouth agape and unsure what she should do.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Tsubame stared up at the Sannin and began a slow retreat, barely moving, as she backed away.

"Tut, tut, little girl," Orochimaru sighed. "No need to leave so soon so you can inform your little master of your discoveries. I'd advise you to come here while you're still breathing."

Tsubame caught her breath in her throat and debated her options. Either one held death at the end of the tunnel and she really didn't want to chance which one would be more painful. "Demon snake, I'll not heed your command!" She pushed herself back into the shadows.

"Not a wise choice…" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at where the girl had landed. "I suppose this would be an excellent time to test a new technique, wouldn't you say so, Tsubame?"

New technique? The woman's eyes widened, and she was brought to her knees clutching her know searing head. "What is this!?" The woman demanded as before her, through flashing eye lids, Orochimaru was approaching at his own pace.

Before her eyes, he crouched before her and took her chin between his thumb and pointer, jerking it harshly up so he could gaze down at her blinking eyes. His mouth turned up into his sinister grin. "What's wrong, little girl?" He jeered. "Does your head hurt?"

The real Orochimaru remained on his balcony smirking sadistically down at the squirming woman. His teeth gleamed in the moonlight. "And it works well…" He chuckled cruelly to himself.

His feet jumped him over the banister and caught hold of the girl's arm, causing it to release the grasp on her hair. "Come now… surely you won't resist this time." He tugged her to her feet and dragged her back into the facility where he dropped her on the floor in his room where she lay shuddering for some time in front of his bed.

An hour later, Tsubame was still recovering from the mind shock she had received from the Sannin lord's Death Foreseeing Technique. She slowly picked her aching, somewhat bloody head off the floor. Her eyes were red and unfocused as she pulled in her surroundings and shortly realized he was grinning down at her. "You really are a demon snake…" She breathed out in a hoarse voice. "What did you do to me?"

"Nothing that you didn't already deserve," Orochimaru replied silkily. "I told you to do something, and you disobeyed. I think it a fair punishment. But all the same, now that you are here, you will answer my questions."

Tsubame's weak eyes glared at Orochimaru. "You make me suffer more than I have suffered for any of my failures and now you demand for me to tell you things? What do you take me for?"

Orochimaru flashed her a grin. "Don't get cheeky, Tsubame-san. I just want to know the answers to a few questions…"

Tsubame struggled herself up to a slightly kneeling position. "And if I refuse to answer you?"

"Then, dear Tsubame-san, you will regret it once more with every fiber of your being…only you might not be getting up from the floor this time," Orochimaru replied calmly with almost no ill will leaking into his voice.

"And how would you do that?" Tsubame got out in a hiss.

"That vision you had…" Orochimaru smirked once more at her even paler features. "…might come into reality if you do not comply or answer."

Tsubame stiffened. "You are a demon…" She let her head hang in resignation. "What, then, is your first question?" She growled.

"Shall we establish some things first?" Orochimaru inquired coldly as he came towards her. "If you continue to call me 'demon,' you will have an excellent understand as to what the word means. And if I were you, I would watch how you address me. You might keep that little head of yours on your shoulder a little while longer."

Tsubame glared at the tile of wood in front of her, which she realized he was standing on. Her head jerked up when he gripped her scalp roughly and forced her to look at him. She cringed in pain and her hands started to go forward to attempt to get him to release her scalp.

"I didn't hear you acknowledge what I said."

"I understand," she returned when she grasped his wrist and pressed down on where she assumed its pressure point to be.

Regardless of her effort, Orochimaru did not release her hair and merely stared down sinisterly at her. "Let me go," he ordered.

Tsubame obeyed and attempted to sit up straighter to ease the pain on her head. "Will you let me go now?"

"No," Orochimaru shot childishly as his hand eased its grip just enough to allow her some comfort. "Now, Tsubame, perhaps you can be clearer than Atsuko. Who is the Kawayama-'mikoto' that you all seem to keep bringing up as owner of these lands?"

"Kawayama-mikoto is the owner of much of the land that you are invading. Supposedly, he is a defected ninja from one of the larger cities, but I have never seen any proof to back up that claim." Tsubame gently rubbed her strained eyes. "I'd estimate him to be middle aged with too much money and women at his disposal."

Orochimaru chuckled lightly under his breath so she couldn't hear. To him, this Kawayama sounded like a very powerful Jiraiya. "If he is no ninja, why do you listen to him if you are one? Surely he doesn't employ you."

"I do as I'm told because there are rogues that work for him…" Tsubame muttered.

"How many rogues, would you say?"

"I can only tell you of the ones I've worked with and their immediate groups. I'm not sure how wide his organization expands…" She cleared her throat. "In the groups that I've worked with, there are usually five or six rogues. I've worked with five groups so there's somewhere between twenty-five and thirty ninja."

"Hm…" Orochimaru remarked absently. That would explain the lack of ninja in Amegakure and Sunagakure at the present moment in time. "Next question: why were you and that Kenta here?"

"We were told to scope out the area to make sure there were no Konohagakure ninja around. I don't really understand why they would be a threat to a civilian leader, but Kawayama-mikoto takes them to be one."

Orochimaru released her scalp but kept a finger under her chin to keep her head up. "How did you come under this Kawayama?"

"Kenta more or less forced me into it."

"How? You seem more capable than him."

"I have a son…" Tsubame shifted uncomfortably where she sat.

Orochimaru frowned but continued. "What all have you done for Kawayama?"

"Minor espionage work," Tsubame inhaled deeply. "I'm always doing something different before I get to the main part of the mission. For whatever reason, he always asks Kenta to make me go do something else for him instead of tying up loose ends."

"All minor espionage work?"

"Hai," Tsubame rubbed her eyes again. "I'm not allowed to do anything else for the sake of learning too much."

"They're afraid of a betrayal from you then…" Orochimaru brooded more to himself than her. He let her chin go and straightened himself up and walked around her to the balcony. "What village do you hail from?"

"Getsugakure," Tsubame answered as she turned her head towards him. "Kenta is also from there."

"Would you consider yourself a defect?"

"No, I would not. I go back every day or night depending on what time I am called for a mission outside of it."

"They would consider you a traitor for such actions…"

"I talked to the Tsukikage… He was actually the one that suggested I listen to Kenta instead of running away with my son to a safer place where he wouldn't be able to find me."

"Now you can't get out, correct?"

"Hai…" She lowered her head again.

"Well…well… that is certainly interesting." Orochimaru turned back to her. "You are an informant for the Tsukikage then?"

Tsubame nodded her head glumly for a moment. "I think they may have figured it out, but I can assume that I will know definitely when I return home…"

"Is Kenta smart?"

"Paranoid, but I wouldn't necessarily say smart. He lacks common sense in some areas. I doubt he would be the one to figure me out. I think it would be more like Hiraku…"

"How old is your son?"

Tsubame's head jerked up as she stared with fear rimmed eyes at the man. "Why?" Her one hand fidgeted with fringe of her shirt.

"Answer me."

"Tell me why and I will," Tsubame countered.

"I want to know if he will be capable of fending for himself if you die."

"He…he's two…" She continued to fidget. "I don't think that he would be capable…"

Orochimaru's gaze became critical. "Why would you do it then?"

"Do you think I wanted to?" Tsubame demanded, her voice rising. "Are you naïve enough to think that I would purposely endanger my son? I don't trust that my sister is watching him as closely as she promised she would be. I don't trust that the Tsukikage is keeping strict regulations on the people going into that village. I'm scared to death that I'll lose him, and when I tried to escape to get him and take him to another place, they caught me and nearly killed me before. If I could find a way for him to not be affected by the situation that I am in, I would give my life for it a second, but no alternatives have appeared so I can't!" She sunk her face behind her hands.

Orochimaru fell silent, which meant he realized the immense complexity of her situation after her outburst. He let out a breath. "Do they expect you to go back to them tonight?"

"I don't know," She muttered through a sob. "I just want to go home…"

Orochimaru turned back to the balcony and stared out into the darkness that consumed the trees. "It seems that Kenta is waiting for you to reappear…"

Tsubame stiffened as she sniffled and gingerly wiped a tear from her eye. "Orochimaru," was all she said.

He turned back to her. "What?" He asked sharply in an irritated fashion.

"I know why he's here," Tsubame brought her gaze to his as she got to her still unsteady feet. "Is there another way I can leave?"

Orochimaru cast her a questioning gaze. "You want to go home then?"

She nodded slowly as not to bring on another black out. "I want to go home."

Releasing a defeated breath, he told her how to leave, but on one condition.

"If anyone finds out I'm here," he warned her as he opened the door. "One of you will cease living."

Tsubame gave a quick nod in somber silence and disappeared out into the darkness of night.

Orochimaru let out a breath and stared after her. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Perhaps, that is why my mother died…" He murmured to himself as he shut the door silently. "She tried negotiating life from someone of the likes that I have turned into and failed…" With one more dismal disapproving shake of his head, he vanished once more into the confines of his now quiet room.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

The smell of her hair filled his nostrils, and the feel of her cool skin beneath his chilling fingertips consumed him. His eyes fluttered as he felt her bite him which brought out a soft hiss from in between his teeth as he forced her wrists to a pinned position on the wall. He groaned ever so slightly as she released her bite on his neck as if he had not wanted her to stop. He pressed his thin lips to her soft ones and forced her head back to the wall in between his hands. He felt her legs go around his hips as she pulled him against her more prominently. He knew she was his sick fantasy.

Orochimaru jolted upright in his bed with a sharp breath as he did so. He ran his hand over his sweating feature; it had been the third night in a row that this woman haunted his dreams and filled the following day with uncertainty and agitation. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs completely, and leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

She certainly had done a good job conquering his mind, hadn't she? He mused to himself with a small grin tugging at his features. And all of that came after how badly he had treated her in the beginning. He chuckled lightly, airily.

Dawn was just beginning to peak through the lone slit in the blowing curtains near the door to the balcony, and that lone beam landed right in Orochimaru's golden eye thus making them gleam mysteriously. The sound of Amachi reached Orochimaru's ears at that moment. It had been awhile since Amachi came this early to him. He sat up as the door opened.

"Sir, sorry to disturb you this early…" Amachi apologized quickly lest he incur the Sannin's wrath.

Orochimaru shrugged indecisively. "I was up," he answered simplistically. "What brings you to me at this hour, Amachi-san?"

"Well, mikoto, there has been a slight unfortunate event that has happened in Kirigakure." Amachi fidgeted nervously as if not anticipating Orochimaru's response. "Akiyama is dead."

Orochimaru succeeded in hiding his surprise long enough to make his eye brow go up. "Do you know the cause of death or where he was?"

"I know how he died," Amachi cleared his throat. "It was trauma to the head, possibly with a blunt object or a very dull sword."

Orochimaru smirked. "I anticipated as much."

It was now Amachi's turn to look surprised, and he pulled it off brilliantly. "Sir?"

Orochimaru eased his body forward, still smirking. "I knew Akiyama would die. How, you ask? Simple. Yamashima killed him, and I admire him for it." He leaned back and continued, "Yamashima is no fool and can spot a traitor when he sees one. No doubt Akiyama was flirting to willing with the enemy, and to save any majour information leaking out, Yamashima had slain him."

"Odd method to going about slaying someone, I must say." Amachi found himself chuckling unexpectedly. "I assume that you have found a replacement for him?"

"No need for one. Yamashima is showing me that he is a capable soldier. Now Motokawa must prove himself." Orochimaru reclined against his head board. "I feel he will do so beautifully within the coming month." He chortled quietly to himself.

"I did also receive news that Konohagakure was seen near the palace…"

"It's of little consequence. They will not find what they are looking for there, and if they do, I will be most displeased with _you_."

"They will not find it, Orochimaru-san. I assure you. I have moved it to the other location as you had instructed at least a week before we departed from that place."

"Excellent… How is its condition?"

Amachi smirked. "It is becoming better. I had to reverse the decomposition stage, but it be too much of a problem. _He_ should be as good as new soon…"

Orochimaru's smirk threatened to widen to reveal his fangs, but he contained the smirk. "Perfect," he purred. "We will soon see just how well _this_ jutsu works…" He laughed a cold, dark laugh that made Amachi's spine shiver. "Good, don't fail me now, Amachi; I am looking forward to this one…"

"I know you are, sir; I know you are…" Amachi shook his head glumly and slipped out of the room.

Orochimaru trailed a finger gently over his lips. "Perfect…" He was saying to himself. "All is going as it was planned…" He laughed that same laugh and shimmied back under the covers.

Kimimaro sat on the balls of his feet as he hovered over the Mahjongg game he had set up. His concentration was high, for he had closed and locked all the door so he couldn't be disturbed by the other children while he played. His eyes scanned the tiles expertly as he picked up another matching pair and set them aside. The door slid open as he picked up yet another pair from the layout.

"Kimimaro-san," Atsuko's voice softly intruded his concentration, "are you hungry?"

Lifting his eyes from his game momentarily, Kimimaro cast her a displeased gaze. This couldn't have waited a little longer? He sighed. He was almost done with this layout too… "I am…mildly hungry," He responded coolly.

Atsuko bowed quickly. "Do you want me to bring you something?"

"Hai," was all she got before he turned back to the game.

Atsuko's feet padded her softly to the door, her dark shift swooshing gently in her wake. As the she slid the door shut, Kimimaro sighed loudly in annoyance. "Pesky woman…" He muttered under his breath as he plucked two more tiles out. "She can be so irritating…"

"Who can?"

Kimimaro jumped. The voice that had spoken wasn't one he recognized. Wheeling around to face it, he found himself staring at the Toad Sage. Confusion melted over his features. "How did you get in here?" He demanded in both confusion and irritation.

"I walked." Jiraiya grinned at the boy. "Isn't that how you get into most places?"

Kimimaro's eyes narrowed. "You're _not_ funny. What the hell do you want?"

"Now, now, don't go getting mad since your master didn't tell you I was coming--"

"I don't think you should be here," Kimimaro cut in curtly. "This is no place for old men with…" He eyed the giant scroll on Jiraiya's back. "…mail carrying bags."

Jiraiya blinked dumbly as Orochimaru appeared in the door way across from him. "And just _what_ are _you_ doing _here_?" Orochimaru's voice snarled.

Startled, Jiraiya jumped and devoted his attention to the golden eyed snake in the door way. "I could ask you the same thing."

"You could, but you would be snapped at…" Orochimaru turned his head to gaze wearily at Kimimaro.

"Shall I remove him?" Kimimaro offered before Orochimaru could speak.

"Remove? Who's removing who, punk?" Jiraiya snapped.

"Yes, Kimimaro, that would be most wondrous. He bores me…" Orochimaru sighed as he pointedly ignored Jiraiya.

"Of course, mikoto," Kimimaro rose to his feet.

For an eight year old, Kimimaro was surprisingly tall and lanky. His long sleeves covered his hands as he stood with his arms straight up and down to his body. He flipped the hair out of his face.

"I will ask you once to leave peacefully and not return. If refuse to go, I will force you to; and I assure you, you _don't_ want me to do that." He informed Jiraiya. "Now please leave."

Jiraiya ignored the boy. "Getting little children to do your dirty work, eh, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru's gaze continued examining his nails. "Children?" He scoffed. "I don't consider them 'children,' Jiraiya. You should know me well enough by now…"

"Puppets then," Jiraiya muttered bitterly.

Orochimaru heard him and grinned as Kimimaro threw something at the sage. "Ciao, Jiraiya. Be careful the door doesn't hit you on the way out."

Jiraiya barely dodged the shoulder blade that had been thrown at him. "Bastard! Get back here, coward!" He lunged forward to pursue the departing snake, but was intercepted half way by Kimimaro.

The larger Sannin made an agitated noise and disappeared with a "just you wait" hissed after Orochimaru and at Kimimaro.

Kimimaro huffed and sat down. Maybe now he would get to finish his game…

"Yondaime-sama!" An ANBU rushed into the Hokage's office. "Kyuubi is attacking!"

Startled, Yondaime bolted up from behind the desk. "Assemble the units immediately!" He ordered. "We must defend the village!"

"Right away!" The ANBU disappeared.

Yondaime's face was livid. Kyuubi could only mean one thing…

"What is it, Yondaime?" A woman's voice asked from the stair way.

"Something bad, my dear, something bad…" He turned to her with concern in his eyes.

"Is this 'something bad' something that will pass?"

"I can only hope…" He came to her, embraced her briefly and disappeared out the door.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Orochimaru pursed his lips into a thin line as the migraine he had contracted came in full force on his mind. His hands moved up to cradle his aching head and to block out the light that was streaming in through his windows and right into his eyes. He hadn't risked getting up to close the blinds or the curtain leading out onto his balcony. He didn't want this blasted head ache getting any worse than it was.

Amachi gingerly opened the door and peered wearily in as if expecting to see the Sannin lord slumbering on his bed. When he saw that Orochimaru was staring at him through strained eyes, he entered and closed the door softly. "Migraine?" He whispered.

Orochimaru barely nodded his head, but he knew Amachi understood from the strain that was evident in his eyes. "Can you---"

"Yes, sir," Amachi was already on his way to close all the curtains, the windows, and the door. After quietly accomplishing his task, he came to Orochimaru's bedside. "The jutsu?"

"I'm not sure," Orochimaru remarked slowly as if each syllable hurt him greatly to say. "I can only hope not…

Amachi let out a slow, calm breath before touching the Sannin's burning forehead with a cool hand. "You don't feel very good…"

"I don't _feel _very good…"

Amachi performed a quick jutsu to ease the head ache to a more bearable level for the serpent lord. "Is that at all better?"

"Can't you make it go away entirely?"

"And possibly worsen it? I think it safer to do it that way and let you sleep…" He pressed a gentle hand on Orochimaru's neck to see if it was as hot as his forehead had been. "No, definitely not wise. You would kill the first person that so much as thought as whispering outside of your door…" He tugged the blankets over his lord's shoulder. "Just rest, Orochimaru-sama, let your body adjust."

Breathing a sigh out of his nose as the medic nin left, he turned onto his back and looked despondently at the ceiling. It had been a long time since he had felt a migraine like this, but the last time, Tsunade had been present to relieve him of the screaming pain throbbing through his cranium. His golden eyes slowly disappeared beneath his purple eye lids.

When Orochimaru finally awoke for his slumber, the world was quite dark out. Thus, he decided it would be safe to venture outside for a moment or two to get some fresh air. He dragged his slightly aching body out from under the comfort of the multiple blankets and tightened his night shift around him before daring the outside.

Above him, the clouds were swirling maliciously and pouring rains of ill intent. Below him, Sakon and Kimimaro were returning from a store run to the local village with great haste. He let out a soft breath. Was it a storm that was coming or something worse?

A gentle rapping on his door called his attention to it as Tayuya eased it open carefully. "Uh, Orochimaru-sama, are you hungry?" She asked gently.

"No, thank you though, Tayuya," Orochimaru answered. "Can you send Amachi to me?"

"Of course, sir!" Tayuya bowed and departed hastily.

Amachi appeared in the thresh the next moment. "You summoned me?"

Orochimaru turned only his head to stare at the medic nin and hesitated a moment before asking his question. "Amachi-san… do you feel something terrible is boiling up right underneath us?"

Amachi came to stand beside Orochimaru. "Well, Orochimaru-san, it's difficult to say really. I certainly see signs of things boiling up, but I wouldn't necessarily say that they are ill omens to us. I think it's likely that it is for our enemies. After all, no one knows that any of us exist here in this place…"

"For now…" Orochimaru remarked, shrugging his arms lamely. "You know what happens when _they_ get involved… It goes from a gently prod to a violent thrust to finally a death rendering blow." He demonstrated with his hands as he spoke. "I just have this sick feeling as if they know how to get to me here and deliver me to the hands of my ancestors."

"It will only get you if you let it, Orochimaru-sama," Amachi stated a bit too sharply, causing Orochimaru to look taken aback by his statement. "Think about it. When have you ever not done something that you put your mind to? I don't think I've seen you falter once in anything that you honestly wanted to get done. It's so out of character for you."

"That may be so, Amachi, but there are some things that are inescapable. Death certainly isn't at this point…"

Amachi sighed. There was just no convincing this Sannin that all would be well; after all, Orochimaru could be a serious worry-wart when he wanted to be. No one could tell him otherwise. "Orochimaru-sama, just…don't think too deeply on the matter. I know you well enough to know that it won't be anyone but you coming out on top," He bowed respectively. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work I need to attend to. Kaguya-kun's tuberculosis has been acting up again, and I think I may know why that is…"

"Very well…" Orochimaru waved his hand dismissingly. He only watched Amachi go out of the corner of his eye as most of his gaze was directed to the land before him. "We shall see if you are correct in your statements, Amachi. One never knows with those people. My people know better than to under estimate them, yet they still did just that." He cocked his head gently to the side and leaned his chin against his pointer and thumb. "They can totally destroy someone, and you will never know it was them…"


	15. Chapter Fifteen

_Author's note_

_Events here out take place in the same time period as Shippuden. This is where my story really won't have anything to do with the anime/manga, but it wouldn't be my fan fiction if that were the case.  
Info to be understood for the following chapters:  
Sasuke doesn't "kill" Orochimaru; Orochimaru obviously does not suffer the fate as described in the manga/anime.  
Kimimaro, Sakon, Tayuya, ect, are alive.  
Asuma is also alive.  
I will add more to this chapter if it comes to mind that I have left something out.  
ENJOY!!! ^-^_

_

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Anko settled herself into a meditative position near the bank of the river that ran through her favoured domain: the Forest of Death. Here, she was at peace, which was something that she rarely had the time to indulge in ever since Tsunade had ascended to the title of Hokage-sama. This had long been her place for--

"NARUTO!!!" She roared as she whipped a stick in his general direction.

"Whoa!" The blonde ducked, narrowly avoiding the extremely heavy stick. He cowered behind a tree accordingly when he saw Anko's hands go for yet another heavy stick. "Whoa! Cool it Anko-san!!"

Anko stopped in her quest for the stick. "What do _you_ want?" She demanded, eyes narrowing.

"Well…uh… Tsunade-sama sent me to come get you. She's got something she needs you to do," Naruto explained as he bravely stepped out from behind the tree. "Do you know how long it took me to find you?"

Offering no answer, Anko briskly sauntered past the blonde. As she walked, she was muttering things about how much she detested the way Tsunade ran Konohagakure and how much she loathed being made to take deliveries every place under the sun whenever the Sannin felt like dumping them upon her. She resented the latter very much, for there was even a special core in the ANBU division which specialized in deliveries. This division was set up to keep packages from falling into the wrong hands, and Anko had specifically opted out of that division as she felt that her powers would be better spent training.

"Anko-san!! Wait up!" The Uzamaki shot after her. He didn't want to get lost in the great forest for the fifth time that day.

Meanwhile, Karin burst happily through the door into the throne room where Sasuke sat lazily in Orochimaru's old throne. "Guess what, Sasuke-sama!" She even had a smile in her voice.

"What?" Sasuke asked in a monotone voice. It was quite plain that he thought the speck on the throne was more interesting than what Karin had to say.

"We found some interesting people today."

"Did you?"

"Yes, we did. You should see these people, Sasuke-san. They were the strangest things I've ever seen."

Sasuke cast the girl a puzzled look as he lifted up his head to gaze at her. "Oh?"

"Yeah, one had this really long white hair. He wasn't even old! He couldn't have been much older than you, in fact! We completed dusted them when we found them trying to enter one of the older bases. Can you believe that a bunch of orphans found this place?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Those weren't orphans, Karin…"

The mirth from Karin's face drained away. "What?"

"Those weren't orphans. If your lot wasn't so busy being foolish, you would have realized that they _knew_ that base was there; that they _knew_ you would be there."

"They were tattered and bloody! They looked like they had gone through Hell, Sasuke-sama. They didn't even have a single lick of chakra left. How on earth could they have know this place was here?"

Sasuke said but one word, which sufficed as the answer to any other questions that Karin might have had in her mind: "Orochimaru."

Karin swallowed. "Oh no… I thought you killed him."

"So did I," Sasuke admitted, breathing a great sigh through his nostrils. "Go scout; I need to know if those _orphans_ are still in the area."

"Right away!" Karin zipped through the door before Sasuke even had a chance to blink his crimson eyes.

"So where are you hiding, _Sensei_?" Sasuke sneered to himself. "You couldn't have gone too far, could you?"

Kimimaro and the twins, Sakon and Ukon, had since retreated from the lands they had known as home. Kimimaro looked as if he were nearly ready to pass out, but it was not because of his tuberculosis. Surprisingly, the disease had surprisingly been held at bay by the drugs the boy had taken in his past and now had gone into remission. It no longer hindered him. He ran a hand over his blood drained visage.

Sakon returned to the cave where the group of boys had taken cover from the view of their enemies. Balanced precariously between his arms was a bowl of water. He had managed to snag the bowl off an unsuspecting person's window sill on their journey back to where they thought their home was. He set it down next to where Kimimaro lay and started to wash his face.

"Any clue who that girl was, Kimimaro-san?" Ukon inquired when his brother had finishing washing his face.

The Kaguya shook his head lamely. "No, I don't. I did, however, note that Jirobo was among their ranks. I am sure that does not bode well for Orochimaru-sama, wherever he may be."

Ukon nodded his head grimly, fully understanding what the Kaguya meant. "We don't even have an idea where he would be. It seems so odd for him not be in the land that he staked as his own."

"That filthy little Uchiha brat took them from him; I'm almost certain of that. He's an ungrateful little wretch."

Sakon snickered underneath his breath. "I still sense jealousy, Kimimaro-san."

The white-haired boy glared evilly at his tattered counterpart. "Watch it, Sakon-kun. I may look like Hell, but that doesn't mean that I won't take your tongue out." He hoisted himself up to a sitting position and dipped his hand into the water for a drink.

"Calm down, Kimimaro-san; I was just kidding. I know you're not jealous of Sasuke." Sakon leaned back against the cave's wall.

Silence passed between the two as dusk settled on the horizon. Kimimaro's pale green eyes lit up fiercely as the remainder of the sunlight hit them. "Sakon-kun," He remarked suddenly.

Sakon jolted back from whatever day dream he had been toying with. "What's up?" The boy sounded startled.

"They're looking for us…" Kimimaro brooded quietly, intentionally stating the obvious.

Knowing well that Kimimaro only noted the obvious if he felt there was danger, Sakon cast his gaze out to the area just outside of the cave as if he wanted to watch the shadows of the trees' leaves move in unison just to pass the time. "How many are there, Kimimaro-san?" He muttered, drawing his gaze back to the Kaguya.

"I'm not sure, but I do know that girl is among them."

Sakon made a pained face. "She didn't look too tough, but we're not exactly operating at peak condition…"

"Humph…" Kimimaro retorted. "If she corners me again, tiredness aside, she won't be walking away from me."

Ukon chuckled darkly and nodded his consent to the elder boy's statement. "That she certainly will not," Sakon echoed.

Both boys fell silent as the darkness finally consumed the land before them. No moon had risen to offer the boys some light or even comfort. No stars shown brightly in the sky. The ominous clouds above them had eaten up all sources of light; thereby creating a perfect conditions for any ninja to strike.

Kimimaro was the first to rise to his feet, having picked up on a familiar chakra. "He's here!" He informed Sakon with elation elevating in his voice.

Sakon also rose to his feet. "Orochimaru-sama?"

"Hai," Kimimaro remarked, letting a great smile ease over his features. "He was here all along."

"Perhaps we just needed to rest to find him…" Sakon offered up, a smile also toying at his features. "Do you think he's moving?"

"No, he's not moving. Wherever he is, he's waiting for something to come to him; I am certain of that." Kimimaro tilted his head gently to the side and let a genuine smile carve onto his face in the darkness. It would be one of the few times that the boy would honestly smile.

The three boys were now faced with a decision. Do they risk being caught by their pursuers to see the one person that they knew would be able to help them back to a better health? Or did they wait until more and chance the notion that Orochimaru would not be there when they awoke? Those silent questions ushered in an air of uncertainty, which promptly swept the smiles from all three's faces.

"Do we chance it?" Sakon finally inquired when the unnerving silence became too much.

Chapter Sixteen

Juro-gumo (Nephila clavata) is a species of spider that lives in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China. Here, Pein is referring to its part of Japanese folklore. Jorogumo was said to be able to transform from spider into a beautiful woman that seduced men, and the men once caught in her seduction were tied up and to be eaten.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Orochimaru rested amongst the welcome haven of foliage. His head rested on his knees, which were pulled close to his chest. His hair was matted and held remnants of fallen leaves, and his pale visage was mud smeared. Despite his disheveled appearance, the man was actually quite content with his surroundings; this was displayed well with the slight smile that dominated his slender lips.

Orochimaru's attentions were stirred at the same moment he inhaled the cool night air. Friendly or otherwise, there were people about him. His eye narrowed in cold, amused thought. Just who were these people that were intruding on his resting grounds?

"I can't believe this!" A girl's voice remarked in outrage. The stumbling sound of a person tripping reached Orochimaru's ears. "Ugh! This is infuriating!"

"If you took your time, Karin, you wouldn't trip…" Sasuke's cool voice floated over the girl's angered statements. "Everyone knows that."

"Humph," was all Sasuke heard in retort to his statement as Karin had taken to muttering under her breath.

Orochimaru's head tilted to the side ever so slightly. So the little Uchiha brat was still lingering around? That was interesting. He gently pried the leaves in front of his eyes apart to see if the two were in his general area.

Sure enough, Karin stood less than two yards in front of him brushing off her pant leg while Sasuke stood an arm's breadth from Karin. "He has to be around here!" Karin declared after a moment of silence.

"You don't know him at all," Sasuke shot back. "He probably isn't anywhere near here. His chakra is immense…for someone of his age." He beckoned Karin to follow him in the opposite direction of Orochimaru's hiding place.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes and rose to his feet after making sure that both nin were far enough away from him. The pale snake stretched his arms high above his head and brought them back to his side.

"Ow…" The familiar voice hit his ears. "Watch out f--"

"Oof!"

"Oh my GOD! You weigh a ton!! I hope you didn't break any ribs…" A strained voice choked out.

"Sorry, Sakon-san…" Kimimaro's voice answered rather apologetically.

The elder boy shifted off the teal haired one and offered him a hand up. When his hand was taken, he grasped the one in his hand firmly and pulled up. The younger twins rose to their feet with a slight grunt.

"Anything feel broken?" Kimimaro inquired as he inspected his fellows.

"No, and you're lucky that there isn't anything broken…" Sakon retorted, evilly eyeing Kimimaro.

The Kaguya raised a dirty sleeve to his mouth to hide the slight grin that threatened to take over his features at that very moment. "Yes, you're right, Sakon-san… I am very lucky that there isn't anything broken…" He remarked in a rather amused tone.

Sakon narrowed his eyes evilly. "You know, Kimimaro-san, you're really agitating some times…"

This retort brought a small laugh from behind Kimimaro's sleeve. "If you say so," He chortled before he turned around, his head turning from side to side as he did so. "He should be around here somewhere…" He noted calmly into the darkness. "I wouldn't doubt for an instance that Sasuke's over estimating him…"

Sakon dismissed the evil look on his features and let a pensive one take its place. "You're right, Kimimaro," he admitted. "Sasuke's too thick sometimes do his own good…"

A cracking of a stick stopped Sakon short of making another remark. Both teens stood petrified. Had they altered someone of their presence? Kimimaro's green eyes flicked around, but they found themselves rather useless in this darkness. Sakon, too, could not see a single thing in front of his face.

"Genjutsu?" The latter suggested in a remotely depressed tone.

"No, not a genjutsu…" Kimimaro remarked coolly. "I wouldn't be able to hear anything. No, I think the moon's just being blocked by a cloud at the moment. We should be able to see in a second."

Kimimaro's well trained ears picked up on the sound of another twig snapping; but this time it was much closer than before. He noted that Sakon shifted uncomfortably behind him. The wary, tired Kaguya took a step towards the source of the sound while Sakon scanned the tree tops vainly.

"Well, well," A voice remarked in the distance. Both boys immediately realized Sasuke was speaking to someone. "If it isn't Naruto… Come here to teach me a lesson, have you?"

Sakon grinned at Kimimaro, who smirked in reply. "Perfect, they won't know we--" Sakon started.

"I know you're here…" A gentle hiss stopped Sakon short. "And that's all that matters…"

Kimimaro wheeled around while Sakon's eyes widened. "Orochimaru-sama!" Both boys nearly exclaimed.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed as he smiled honestly. "Well, well, I'm proud of you two," He admitted. "Come, let us leave them to their little squabble. I doubt that it will last long, for Jiraiya will likely want to take Naruto home in one piece…" He beckoned them to follow him with a ginger wave over his shoulder.

Kimimaro and Sakon obediently followed their sensei deeper into the forest in the opposite direction of what had once been their home.

Sakon was the first to break the silence between the four of them. "Orochimaru-sama, we looked everywhere for you; where were you hiding?" He inquired softly as he glanced up into his elder's face.

Orochimaru frowned slightly in the moonlight. "Hiding? I wasn't hiding… No, no, not at all. I was out in plain sight a majourity of the time, Sakon-kun. It was just a matter of someone happening upon me."

"A disguise then?" Kimimaro chirped up.

"Of sorts," Orochimaru responded vaguely. "I was spending recuperating in what used to be the Yukigakure*… Most people don't look at you twice there."

"What used to be?" Sakon's face twisted into a perplexed look.

"Mmhm," Orochimaru sighed dully. "It melted you see. I can't remember the name of the new land at the present time."

Both boys nodded their heads in silent understanding. Orochimaru looked just as tired as the two of them were, if not more so. Sounds of a battle reached their ears, and Kimimaro's mouth twitched up into a vile smirk.

Orochimaru chuckled softly to himself and ran a hand through Kimimaro's knotted hair. "Now, now, no need to wish harm on him," He corrected facetiously. "You know better."

Kimimaro flashed his grin at Sakon but said nothing more on the matter.

--

* - Yukigakure - Village Hidden in the Snow


End file.
